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Nikola Vucevic retiring from Montenegro national team
Montenegro national team star and Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic announced his retirement from the national team, following an upset loss against Great Britain. "It sucks for me to finish [international career] this way. I would have loved to play more in Riga, but it is what it is," Vucevic said after the game. "I'd like to thank my teammates, coaches, and most importantly, the fans for everything they did throughout my career with the national team. It was an honor to play here, but that's sports. I enjoyed playing here, but it's time for a new generation to leave its mark," the 34-year-old added.
The Europe camp marked the first time that Basketball Without Borders — the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program — was held in the United Kingdom. LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac spoke with ClutchPoints exclusively during the Basketball Without Borders camp, discussing the importance of imparting his knowledge on the next generation of potential European pros. “It’s been great,” Zubac said during the four-day basketball camp. “I like sharing my knowledge and experience with the young guys, especially guys coming from Europe kind of going through a similar path that I was going through. Just being around them, around their energy, it feels good. It’s kind of a different than the NBA stuff. It’s very fun and fulfilling coaching and getting my advice to these guys.”
Zaccharie Risacher set the tone for France with 12 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes of action on the way to 74-67 win over Great Britain. It was the second prep game for the French side, which didn’t have Sylvain Fransisco for this game due to shoulder pain and also cut the trio of Ntilikina, Dieng and Diabate.
Adam Silver, Mark Tatum meet with British PM amid NBA Europe talks
Marc Stein: BREAKING: NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum met today in London with United Kingdom prime minister Keir Starmer, @TheSteinLine has learned, as part of Silver and Tatum’s trip to meet with various potential stakeholders in a new NBA Europe league.
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Speaking about creating top-tier clubs, especially in the UK, Mark Tatum added that in the preseason, the NBA Europe Live tour format may return, with NBA clubs playing preseason games against European teams. “If we operate a top-tier competition in Europe, then we will have a big incentive to bring this back”, he clarified. Once more, Tatum wasn’t negative about Eastern European clubs joining the project, even if he implied that they might fight for their qualification via the Basketball Champions League: “There’s a role in our league for teams from Eastern Europe. We want clubs from Serbia, Israel, Turkey, and Greece”.
Pittsburgh point guard transfer and Kentucky signee Jaland Lowe has withdrawn from the 2025 NBA Draft and will attend UK in the fall, he announced via social media on Thursday. "Can't miss out on this opportunity," Lowe wrote. "See you soon, BBN."
The EuroBasket 2025 resurfaces Finland as the host of Group B in Tampere. Looking to clinch a berth in the Round of 16, Finland will face Sweden, Great Britain, Montenegro, Lithuania, and Germany from August 27 to September 3. “It was packed house every night, a lot of fun and really competitive games,” the Vantaa native recalled the 2017 tournament between the top European national teams, “I’m looking forward to build on that. I think we have a really good team. Hopefully, we can create some buzz and kind of make a big run.”
The tweet was deleted about five minutes later, and a league source confirmed to Front Office Sports they were hacked. The NBA declined to include any additional comment about the hack. Official NBA X accounts from other countries, including Spain (402,400 followers) and the UK (102,400 followers) were also hacked and tweeted out the same announcement. Not all official NBA accounts were hacked as the Latin America (795,300 followers) and Philippines (88,000 followers) accounts did not have the tweet posted.
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One idea the NBA has already explored, sources said, is partnering with major soccer clubs in places such as Manchester, U.K., to have expansion teams under the soccer clubs' umbrellas. Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich are soccer powerhouses that already have basketball teams in the EuroLeague.
LeBron James' production firm the SpringHill Company has agreed to merge with Fulwell 73, the U.K.-based production company behind "The Kardashians," the firms said Monday. Why it matters: The deal gives both companies scale and global reach at a time when the entertainment industry is under enormous pressure to evolve.
Jon Chepkevich: Quinn Ellis has agreed to join the Portland Trail Blazers for NBA Summer League, I’m told. The 6’4” British southpaw guard is coming off a very strong season w/ Trento in Serie A and EuroCup. Among the undrafted free agent market’s top prospects.
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