Евролигийн бүх цаг үеийн мэргэн бууч АНУ-ын шигшээ багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтан 2027 оны ФИБА-гийн дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээний урьдчилсан шатанд чухал үүрэг гүйцэтгэлээ.
Майк Жеймс АНУ-ын шигшээ багтай нэгдсэн эхний долоо хоногтоо Доминиканы Бүгд Найрамдах Улсын эсрэг 15 points, 13 assists-ээр багаа ялалтад хөтөлж, урьдчилсан шатны дээд амжилтыг тогтоов. Улмаар даваа гарагт Мексикийн эсрэг тоглолтын төгсгөлд хожлын оноог авснаар АНУ-ын шигшээ баг 5-1 гэсэн амжилтаар хэсгээ тэргүүлж, дэлхийн аваргын эрхээ баталгаажуулах замдаа шулуудаж байна.
Европ дахь сагсан бөмбөгийн ирээдүйн талаар байр сууриа илэрхийлэхдээ Жеймс NBA болон Евролигийн хамтын ажиллагааг дэмжиж буйгаа илэрхийлэв. Тэрээр Евролигийн бүтээгдэхүүн чанартай ч маркетингийн болон бизнесийн загвараа сайжруулах тал дээр NBA-гийн туршлага, хөрөнгө оруулалт нэн шаардлагатай гэж үзэж байна. Гэхдээ тэрээр Европт шинэ лиг байгуулахаас илүүтэйгээр уламжлалт багуудын шүтэн бишрэгчдийн үнэнч байдлыг харгалзан үзэж, хоёр лигийг нэгтгэх нь зүйтэй хэмээн байр сууриа илэрхийлсэн юм.
Өдгөө 35 настай, Евролигийн 2024 оны MVP шагналт Жеймс одоогоор АНУ-ын шигшээ багийн тоглолтуудад бүх анхаарлаа хандуулж байна. Тэрээр хэрэв NBA-гийн дэмжлэгтэй Европын лиг байгуулагдаж, тэр үед өндөр түвшинд тоглосоор байвал шинэ лигт тоглох сонирхолтой байгаагаа ч нуусангүй.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
The United States is still very much alive in the World Cup.
OK, sorry, not that World Cup. Bad joke.
The basketball World Cup qualifiers are ongoing, and Mike James’ first week with USA Basketball included a qualifying-record 13 assists in a one-point win over the Dominican Republic and a go-ahead basket in the final minute of a one-point win over Mexico.
The two wins improved the U.S. men’s national team to 5-1 in qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar, giving the Americans top billing in their group for the first stage that is now complete and setting them on a smooth course toward qualification when the NBA stars take over.
James, 35, is the EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer and is qualified to discuss basketball on a global stage: the EuroLeague might merge with a new NBA Europe, or the two leagues could compete.
So what does James think about NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s overseas work and its impact on the league that made James famous?
“I would love for them to not make an individual league, but to somehow partner with the league that’s already there,” James told The Athletic. “Because I feel like they have some good things about it.”
The NBA and FIBA said last week they have received final bids for permanent franchises in the proposed league, which is still targeting an October 2027 launch. Also, NBA and EuroLeague officials are meeting this month to determine whether they can merge and form a new league run by the NBA.
According to the NBA, interest exceeded expectations, with bids ranging from $500 million to more than $1 billion and including more than 20 existing basketball and football clubs, with many of them current EuroLeague teams. NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said the league was “extremely encouraged” by the response, calling it “the biggest influx of capital European basketball has ever seen.”
The NBA said it plans to move forward regardless of whether the EuroLeague is on board. The three organizations — FIBA is also a partner for NBA Europe — met in Switzerland last month and described those talks as constructive, but there was still work to be done.
James, who has had a 14-year career in the EuroLeague, has said it is already a strong basketball product but could benefit from the NBA’s money, marketing and business structure.
“I think, for sure, that the NBA would make a better business model and make a lot of things better if they came over and joined with the EuroLeague,” James said. “I think the EuroLeague has a very good product now, but obviously it needs improvements like everything.
“I don’t think I want to say it’s perfect or it doesn’t need to be changed or it’s good the way it is. Obviously, it could have some improvements. I think that the NBA would definitely be able to improve it.”
James specifically pointed to marketing, merchandise, television rights and club revenue as areas where European basketball could grow.
“I would say marketing could be better,” James said. “Figure out a way to have more merchandise and maybe be sponsored by one athletic wear brand so it could be sold and we can make more money off of it. TV rights would be nice.
“Finding a way for clubs to make more money so the league could be better in general. There’s a lot of things that could be better. But not to pick on it, not to be rude, because I think it’s a great product. It’s just, improvements got to be made.”
Still, James does not favor the NBA planting a separate league in Europe and expecting fans to follow.
“Because the thing that’s different about Europe than the United States is that obviously players have fans and fans like players, but they’re really fans of the teams,” James said. “They grow up with the teams their whole life, and they love them. So you can make NBA Europe and have different teams, but if the big teams aren’t over there, the fans are still going to follow the bigger teams and still follow the teams that they’ve been liking since they were 10.
“So the whole new league will be nice. Some people will go, but you won’t get the passionate fans that they have from the league right now. So I would like for it to combine somehow.”
James said his experience overseas has been “great,” mostly because it gave him a career he might not have otherwise had.
“I get to play basketball still,” James said. “I think being able to play basketball as long as I have and get paid to do it is amazing. It’s something that some people might not think about or take for granted, but I try not to.”
James won the 2024 EuroLeague MVP award, and in March 2024 he surpassed Greek great Vassilis Spanoulis as the EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer.
James averaged 16.5 points in more than 360 EuroLeague games while starring for clubs in Croatia, Israel, Italy, Greece, Spain, Russia and France, most recently helping AS Monaco to three consecutive French league championships.
He is currently a free agent and said he would “love” to see NBA interest, though he knows he would probably be a late addition if that materialized. For now, he said, his focus is on USA Basketball.
“I’m just focused on what I’m doing right now and trying to get two wins and stay healthy as possible,” James said.
In his first game with the national team, James finished with 15 points and 13 assists in a win at the Dominican Republic on Friday. In his second, he had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists at Mexico on Monday, including a basket with 36 seconds left that put the Americans ahead for good.
James said the opportunity with USA Basketball came after he made a joke about playing, only to learn the interest was real.
“I think they kind of just asked, like, would you actually play?” James said. “I think it was a situation where they didn’t think I would be interested, but I was interested.”
James might be near the end of his playing career, but he is not done yet. And if the NBA-backed European league is ready by 2027, he’d be interested if he’s still playing at a high level.
“I think any improvements on the league or just a better league in general, I would love to play,” James said. “I don’t know if I’ll still be around by the time (NBA Europe) launches.”
The same could be said about the EuroLeague.
