Matt Rizzetta, founder of Underdog Global Partners, shared insights on the future of Napoli Basketball during a recent episode of Fullcourt Passport. “We bought that club about a year ago. This is our first year as owners. We’re two games out of the playoffs,” he said.
Rizzetta emphasized the city’s potential as a basketball hub. “Naples has a population of three to four million, which I believe would place it in the top half, if not the top 20 percentile of NBA franchises in the United States,” he explained. He also highlighted the connection to Italian-Americans: “There’s 20 million Italian-Americans and almost all of them come from southern Italy and identify with Naples.”
The president detailed plans for a modern arena, approved to open in the 2028–29 season. “It’ll be one of the top 10 modern arenas in all of Europe,” Rizzetta noted, adding that the project is designed to balance NBA-style infrastructure with local tradition. “The heritage and the tradition need to be that father walking with his son from the football stadium to the basketball arena,” he said.
On coaching, Rizzetta explained the hire of Jasmin Repesa: “Repesa is kind of like the Phil Jackson or the Steve Kerr of European basketball. He was always on our radar as sort of an aspirational hire. James Laughlin really sold him on joining the project now rather than later.”
Rizzetta sees European basketball as a growing investment opportunity. “European basketball was trading at one to two times revenue three years ago, now it’s four to seven times revenue. Basketball is growing faster than soccer in Europe,” he said. He also pointed to the importance of youth development and NIL opportunities: “We already have two players heavily recruited by high-level NCAA teams, both with price tags attached.”
The executive underscored his approach to international sports ownership. “Nine times out of 10 American owners fail because they go over before they have a network or understand the bureaucracy,” Rizzetta said. He credited his Italian heritage and local knowledge for Napoli’s positioning. “I’ve done probably a hundred press conferences since we started in Italy. Not one of those press conferences have I done in English.”
Rizzetta also addressed the potential NBA Europe and EuroLeague collaboration. “All we have to do is bring people to Naples, and the project sells itself,” he said. “The combination of EuroLeague tradition and NBA institutional knowledge is like one plus one equals ten.”
With a young, growing city and an enthusiastic fan base, Napoli Basketball’s trajectory is ambitious. “We’re competing for the playoffs and also building a winning tradition. Naples is NBA-ready,” Rizzetta concluded.
