Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Iacopo De Santis: 🇮🇹👀 Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was in Italy for Saliou Niang, who was selected with the #58 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Niang recorded 11 points, 7 rebounds (3 offensive rebounds), 3 assists in 24 minutes.
Iacopo De Santis: Miami Heat point guard Davion Mitchell is training at the Varese Campus in Italy as a guest of the Italian team Openjobmetis Varese. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.5 assists per game during the latest NBA season.
The 19th edition of the adidas Eurocamp will take place from June 5–7 in Treviso, serving as a premier pre-draft showcase for international basketball players aged 16 to 22. This year’s event features a high-profile lineup of special guests, highlighted by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner and Eurocamp alumnus Bogdan Bogdanovic. The German and Serbian players will be joined by fellow NBA star VJ Edgecombe to mentor the prospects gathered in Italy. Besides the active NBA players, the rosters for this year’s camp were also recently announced, showcasing top international talent across multiple teams. Notable prospects include Oscar Wembanyama, Meissa Faye, and David Torresani on Team Eurocamp. The development program also features prospects like Cameron Houindo and Swann Penda on Team Next Gen, Yumiti Saidake on Team World, and Dash Daniels representing Team NBL Next Stars.
Behind this undertaking is an investment group led by former NBA official Donnie Nelson, in which the Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic is one of the main investors. The operational part of the deal will be led by Rimantas Kaukenas, while the legendary Valerio Bianchini the creator of the greatest successes of Roman basketball, is also involved in the whole story. "For me, this is not just a simple financial investment. I want to build a club that can compete at the highest level and that will mean something to Roma, because they deserve the best, and we are ready to give them that," Doncic started for Gazzeta Dello Sport.
Did he want to help move a professional basketball team to Rome? The question came from Donnie Nelson, a former Mavericks executive who had brought Mr. Doncic to the National Basketball Association from Europe and was among those celebrating the win. Mr. Doncic barely had to think before answering yes. The pair are now the lead decision makers of an investment group that has bought a northern Italian basketball team, Vanoli Cremona, from a town that is famous for its violin makers. The group plans to move the team to Rome and submitted a bid to be the Roman representative in the N.B.A.’s ambitious plan to create a league in Europe.
Advertisement
“I think that we’re optimistic and hopeful that the N.B.A. relationship happens,” Mr. Nelson said. “If it doesn’t happen for whatever reason, we’re still excited about moving forward with the Roman opportunity.”
Cody Taylor: Franz Wagner, Bogdan Bogdanović and VJ Edgecombe are among the players who will be special guest mentors at adidas Eurocamp 2026 on June 5-7 in Treviso, Italy. The following teams and athletes will participate:
AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale explained why he sees the NBA Europe project as a major opportunity for the Italian football giant. Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the RedBird Capital Partners founder said Milan want to be part of the potential collaboration between European football clubs and the NBA, viewing it as a way to grow the club's global brand, create new opportunities for fans, and strengthen its financial position. "The NBA is probably the only truly international sport that comes from the United States," Cardinale said in the interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
But here too, I think in terms of: 'How does this help AC Milan?' The EuroLeague has existed for 26 years, and most teams are not profitable. It is not sustainable. So I think European football clubs should collaborate with the NBA and bring NBA basketball to Europe. And that is what I will try to do in Milan," he said. "The goal is to continue elevating the Milan brand, offer opportunities to the fanbase, and continue improving our financial profile. So it is all part of an ecosystem in which everyone should benefit from one another," Cardinale concluded.
Rome will again have a basketball team at the top European level, and it’s not Virtus Roma, the club that stopped existing in 2021. As “Gazzetta dello Sport” reports, on Tuesday afternoon (12/5), the Italian basketball federation is expected to formally approve the move of Vanoli Cremona Basketball, a club founded in 1999, to the Italian Capital.
Advertisement
Former Dallas GM Donnie Nelson is leading the consortium behind this move. Luka Doncic is among the investors, while former player Rimantas Kaukenas, who competed in Italy for Siena and Reggio Emilia, is also among the club representatives. What’s interesting in the report is that the club is also presented as interested in a wildcard for the EuroLeague or the EuroCup.
However, there’s no indication that the football club of the Italian capital and one of the biggest brands in European sports, AC Rome, is involved in all these plans. On the contrary, according to “L’Equipe“, football clubs are sceptical about the NBA European project. Echoing the older reports, the newest article on the matter adds to the football-related doubts. “From the start, the tension has been about the gap between the NBA’s financial expectations and the reality of the clubs and what they are willing to give, especially since the NBA needs them more than the reverse,” said a senior European sports executive to “L’Equipe” on the condition of anonymity.
According to many sources close to the bidding process, the interest for the NBA project is coming mainly from US funds, that are aiming for the UK and Rome, while there’s also local interest for Paris. Due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, Arabian funds are currently more reluctant. However, there’s money on the table, even if everyone agrees at this point that nobody is willing to pay a 500M fee to enter the new league.
Inter Milan president Beppe Marotta confirms. Oaktree is closely monitoring the NBA Europe project, though there have been no substantial updates in recent days. Something is moving for Italian and Milanese basketball, and now even the Nerazzurri are not hiding: "I know that Oaktree is interested in this project, that the NBA wants to bring their show to Europe and that Milan is one of the cities designated," the Nerazzurri's leader said, interviewed by Luca Guazzoni of Ansa during the video conference at the Milan stage of Motore Italia, the Milano Finanza roadshow. The topic is extremely hot, and Beppe Marotta absolutely doesn't want to turn this occasion into an off-field derby with AC Milan's owners. Quite the opposite: "It's purely hypothetical. I can guarantee that there's an exceptional relationship between RedBird and Oaktree."