Luka on the NBA Europe Expansion: “It is going to be three leagues. That’s kind of hard to work. There should be one league. That’s how it works.”
There are things Dončić does like to talk about. Team ownership, for example. Dončić loves European basketball. At home the EuroLeague is on more than the NBA. Last year, Donnie Nelson, the former Mavs exec who engineered the draft-night trade for Dončić in 2018, approached him with an offer: How would you feel about investing in an Italian basketball team? “I said yes immediately,” says Dončić. The Nelson-led group purchased Vanoli Cremona, moved it to Rome and rebranded it BC Roma. Dončić has had several conversations with NBA commissioner Adam Silver about getting the team into the planned NBA Europe. “He’s very excited for it,” says Dončić. “I can’t tell you everything. But he’s excited.”
Pausing, Dončić offers more. The NBA is excited about European expansion—and the revenue that comes with it. But there will be obstacles getting it off the ground. The EuroLeague most notably, Dončić says. The decades-old competition won’t surrender its position as the continent’s top basketball platform. “There’s EuroLeague, EuroCup and then NBA Europe,” says Dončić. “It is going to be three leagues. That’s kind of hard to work. There should be one league. That’s how it works.”
SI: Inside the Mind (and Roots) of Luka Dončić, the New Face of the Lakers