While the NBA continues to discuss an entry to Europe, rumours spread of Euroleague expanding. Now, with reports that it will involve a shift to conferences, the very future of European basketball is in play, according to Emmet Ryan
It’s one report. There’s no need to go over the top. That being said, if the proposal for a 20 team Euroleague to involve conferences is true, there’s a lot to discuss.
Fewer games, for now
One of the options presented to Euroleague shareholders was that a 20 team league would bulk up the season to 38 games. Few people are all that keen on that. While it means two more days to sell tickets and more games for broadcasters, it’s a lot. The fattening of the season would stretch resources and the labour force, not just players, considerably.
The second option is the focus of this article. Two conferences of 10 teams each. This would reduce the season to just 28 games. Each team would play its conference rivals twice (18 games) and the other conference teams once. This would mean the loss of three home games each (not ideal) and a create much smaller TV package (always bad).
It would however almost certainly be only a temporary measure. Any move to conferences would inevitably be done with further expansion in mind. Since all of this started, I’ve expected Euroleague’s long term plans to be two conferences of 12. That means 24 teams and, of course, amounts to 34 basketball games each. For those keeping count, that’s the same as the current package.
What would it mean for the format?
There are two things to bear in mind here. The first is the postseason. It’s a safe bet that conference champions will be auto seeds for the playoffs. Assume the top two in all likelihood. After that it gets messy. Assorted protections would be needed so I would guess that the top three sides in each conference are guaranteed no worse than a play-in.
More likely, the top three in each conference would be automatically into the playoffs proper. Then the four play-in spots could either be entirely cross conference or have just one protected in each. No matter what, it’s hard to see any deal where some cross-conference postseason spots exist.
The other factor is who goes in. Euroleague’s yearning for major markets, most notably London, haven’t diminished. That being said, there’s a long road there. The other elephant in the room is Russia. Nobody reasonable can give a firm date on when those clubs are likely to be capable of readmission. That involves geopolitics above my intelligence. Those floating maybes mean that Euroleague will likely remain haves and have nots. There will be A licence clubs and there will be the rest. A closed but semi-open structure is likely. That goes for current conditions, 20 teams, or anything bigger.
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Room for manoeuvre
A 20 team two conference format creates options for Euroleague. For one, it can negotiate better with FIBA from that position on give and take with international windows. The problem with the current situation is the Euroleague only really has options to give. With the NBA aligning with FIBA and few dates on the basketball calendar taken up by the regular season, that dynamic changes.
This could, for example, involve Euroleague becoming a stakeholder or even full shareholder in a NBA project. Instead of being a competitor, the increased wriggle room created in the calendar could allow it to become business partners with the NBA in this scenario. This could involve the NBA competition being some form of midseason or preseason break project.
There’s also FIBA. One thing that Euroleague would love is access to weekends. Even access to one more creates opportunity. Right now, it only has the Final Four weekend at its disposal. Even that involves finagling. Were it to offer more flexibility on international breaks in exchange for Euroleague designated weekends during the season, that would offer opportunities. A cup event or a multi-game stadium showcase could both work as draws. No, not an All Star game. We’ve established that they don’t work in Europe.
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It’s a domino no matter what
Assume for a moment that none of what I have put forward above happens save for expansion. Even if Euroleague simply goes to 20 teams and a longer season, it’s a change in the dynamic.
Any move, even effectively standing still, from here is a piece being moved on a board. A domino is falling, what it hits and what the ripple impact for basketball across Europe is hard to gauge. The only certainty is that it will do something. Information is currency in sport and right now, nobody is willing to show what’s in their wallet.
That’s particularly true with regards to the NBA project. Details of what it will even be are beyond scarce. Euroleague expanding to 20 teams is, if nothing else, a lot clearer item on the agenda than anything else.
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