The Athletic独家披露，NBA正积极寻求与多支欧洲顶级足球俱乐部建立合作，旨在创建一项全新的欧洲篮球赛事联盟。

知情人士透露，NBA对欧洲顶级足球俱乐部的强大经济实力和品牌吸引力给予高度评价，期望这些俱乐部成为“NBA欧洲”的初创合作伙伴。预计该联赛将于明年秋季正式开赛，自数月前谈判启动以来，双方一直在积极磋商。近期的发展态势显示出强劲的推进动力。

On Tuesday, Mark Tatum, NBA executive vice president and the chief diplomat for the NBA's international affairs, graced the European Club Football Summit as a distinguished guest. Hosted by EFC (European Clubs) and the Paris Saint-Germain chairperson, Nasser, the event took center stage. It was whispered among sources that the significance lay not in what Tatum communicated, but rather in the individuals hosting and attending the gathering. This gathering signaled advancements in the NBA's potential partnerships with leading football clubs. The Paris Saint-Germain, owned by Qatar, has long been considered a prime candidate for establishing a Paris basketball team. Alongside Tatum, George Avazoglou, the NBA's senior vice president responsible for European and Middle Eastern operations, was observed engaging in private discussions with the leadership of Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and AC Milan. All these esteemed football clubs have publicly expressed their interest in joining the NBA Europe. Notably, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan currently lack a basketball team.

知情人士透露，即将于下周在意大利举行的欧洲顶级篮球赛事——欧洲联赛的股东大会，将讨论NBA提出的收购欧洲联赛并实现与NBA欧洲部门合并的计划。在哥本哈根的一次会议上，一位来自对此次合并表现出浓厚兴趣的足球豪门的高级官员表示：“显而易见，若与足球俱乐部的合作未能顺利推进，他本人将不会收到此次会议的邀请。”

在EFC的年度盛会上，欧洲众多足球俱乐部的管理者齐聚一堂，共享交流、研讨与演讲的盛宴。在此场合，塔图姆在一场类似于“TED演讲”的环节中发表了讲话，继他之前的是电子游戏业的领军人物安德鲁·威尔逊以及可穿戴科技领域的威尔·艾哈迈德。当轮到塔图姆走上讲台，观众们热切期待着能从他口中听到一些易于理解的内容，尤其是关于一项能够为欧洲带来巨大经济收益的运动——篮球的承诺。然而，塔图姆对这一话题有着深刻的理解，他详细阐述了足球的魅力、欧洲球迷的热情以及欧洲体育体系所展现的戏剧性。

塔图姆随后减速，强调欧洲篮球在吸引欧洲球迷消费方面并未获得应有的“公正比例”，欧洲各篮球联赛仅占欧洲体育市场的极小部分，仅为1%。他解释称，这是由于在欧洲一些最大、最富有的国家，顶级篮球运动并不突出。这正是NBA欧洲计划介入的领域。

在周二的发言中，塔图姆并未透露太多新颖信息，他透露NBA欧洲联赛计划以12支创始队伍和4个开放席位为基础展开。据悉，这12支创始队伍预计将分布于伦敦、巴黎、罗马、米兰、柏林、慕尼黑、伊斯坦布尔、马德里、雅典、巴塞罗那、曼彻斯特以及里昂。

The Celtics star also touched upon the NBA's initiative inspired by European football leagues and clubs: "For years, we've drawn inspiration from European football, leading to the creation of the NBA's Midseason Classic. This concept was directly borrowed from European football and European sports, where you have these cup competitions throughout the season. We thought, 'Why can't we do that?' So, we applied this idea to our league. I believe what we're trying to do with the European Euroleague is replicate some of the great experiences you've built here. Football is clearly the biggest sport in the world. European football is one of the largest commercial entities globally, and we want to learn as much as possible from the people here."

塔图姆指出，NBA球队在球衣上添加赞助商标签的做法，源自于欧洲足球的灵感。他表示：“假如曼联能够将球衣上的队名移除，转而印上赞助商的名字，那么芝加哥公牛为何不能在球衣上增添一块小型的赞助商标识呢？九年前，我们正是以此向NBA的管理层展示了这一创意的可行性。”

在呼吁拓展欧洲篮球场馆建设之际，塔图姆强调NBA的愿景，即加大对篮球领域的投资，涵盖运动员成长、青少年训练以及设施建设，从而创造一项既具有商业价值又对篮球进步有积极影响的全新机遇。