FIBA leaves Pau Gasol's potential participation in NBA Europe in his hands

San Antonio, United States. – FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis stated this Saturday that the eventual participation of Pau Gasol in the NBA Europe project will depend exclusively on the decision of the former Spanish player.

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During a media gathering in San Antonio, held in the framework of the NBA Finals, Zagklis highlighted the close relationship that FIBA maintains with the two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Pau is one of the busiest retired players. He is very close to us and we will see at the right time if he will participate and in what way,” expressed the executive.

Gasol was slated to play an important role within the NBA Europe project, although he was recently elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission, a responsibility that has increased his institutional commitments.

Zagklis also confirmed that the joint intention of FIBA and the NBA is to launch the new competition in October 2027, with the goal of boosting the growth and international projection of European basketball.

“The mechanism is clear and we are working with the goal of starting in October 2027. We want to build a sustainable and accessible competitive structure for European clubs,” he stated.

As explained, the future league will have qualification processes linked to the Basketball Champions League (BCL) and European national leagues, taking into account the teams’ performance and international participation.

The NBA and FIBA are working on a 16-team competition, of which twelve would have fixed spots. The project seeks to integrate historic clubs from the continent, including Real Madrid Baloncesto and FC Barcelona Bàsquet, in addition to promoting new franchises in cities like London and Manchester.

The initiative emerges as an independent alternative to the EuroLeague and aims to combine the commercial potential of the NBA with the sporting development of European basketball.