Ergin Ataman guided Panathinaikos to a victory against his former team, the club he previously led to consecutive EuroLeague championships. After the game, he also provided an update on Mathias Lessort, stating that he expects his starting center to return to action in about three weeks following an extended absence.
However, despite the win and the injury update, the main focus of his press conference quickly shifted to the topic of NBA Europe and the future structure of elite European basketball.
Ataman was asked to share his perspective, and he expressed clear concern about the possibility of a divided landscape.
He said, “There are currently 13 founding teams in the EuroLeague. Our stance has always been to act together. Right now, the EuroLeague offers an extremely high level of basketball. In fact, I’d even say that during the regular season, it’s higher than the NBA in terms of basketball quality. Of course, the NBA has a very strong marketing value; that’s a fact. The NBA wants 16 teams, but there are already 13 founding EuroLeague teams. So what will happen to the others? On top of that, there’s talk about clubs like Manchester that claim they’ll join NBA Europe. For this to be a healthy league, I believe a 20-team format organized by the EuroLeague – but with the marketing side managed by the NBA – would add great value. However, this is not easy; it’s a difficult task”.
He referenced the early 2000s when the EuroLeague, newly formed as a private club-driven competition, briefly coexisted with FIBA’s Suproleague, which featured teams such as Panathinaikos, Anadolu Efes, and Maccabi Tel Aviv. That split created confusion and instability across European basketball.
Ataman warned against history repeating itself in an even more complicated form.
“If one or two of these 13 clubs decide to leave and say, ‘We’ll play in the NBA,’ it would create a ridiculous situation for European basketball – similar to what happened 20 years ago between the EuroLeague and the SuproLeague. That’s why I believe clubs should act wisely and stand behind the EuroLeague basketball brand that’s been built. Of course, every club has its own strategy. I’m not very optimistic about how this will unfold in the near future, but if the EuroLeague expands its organization slightly and forms something like an NBA-EuroLeague collaboration, I think it would be more beneficial for everyone. Otherwise, we’ll end up with NBA Europe on one side, EuroLeague on another, and FIBA running yet another league somewhere… People are already confused about who’s playing where. That’s why I think such fragmentation would harm basketball. But if unity is achieved, then it could turn out to be something really positive.”
Ergin Ataman describes his ideal picture about how NBA Europe may look likehttps://t.co/FaHx5EHGW1
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) October 17, 2025
