NBA Europe: GBBL boss Marshall Glickman in bid for London franchise
Marshall Glickman, the US basketball supremo behind the aborted GBBL project, is part of one of the bids for a London franchise in NBA Europe, City PM understands.
Multiple sources said Glickman, formerly an executive in the NBA and acting CEO of EuroLeague, was attached to an offer for the team set to be established in the capital ahead of the league’s planned launch next year.
The bid mark’s Glickman’s latest attempt to gain a foothold in British basketball, which he has said he believes has significant untapped commercial potential.
The former president of NBA side the Portland Trail Blazers looked set to take over the running of Britain’s top professional basketball league later this year when GBBL won a notorious tender process run by the now-defunct British Basketball Federation.
Super League Basketball, the existing operator, sued the BBF and GBBL over the process and its clubs, who own and run the competition, refused to sign up to play in it.
The BBF collapsed into liquidation late last year under the weight of the bitter legal battle. It had debts of around half a million pounds.
GBBL also disbanded when it became clear that its 15-year licence from the BBF would be worthless but Glickman has now resurfaced with a new route into the British game.
Deadline approaches for NBA Europe bids
It comes ahead of the NBA’s deadline of 31 March for offers for the 12 permanent franchises in its proposed 16-team European league, which include teams in London and Manchester.
The London franchise is expected to be one of the most sought-after, although sources connected to multiple interested parties said the NBA and its advisors, JPMorgan and the Raine Group, might struggle to achieve its more optimistic valuations of $500m-$1bn for teams.
City PM revealed earlier this year that RedBird Capital, which owns Italian football giants AC Milan, is likely to be the frontrunner for an NBA Europe franchise in the same city.
Other cities the NBA has targeted include Paris, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Barcelona and Madrid, although that may require established teams jumping ship from the incumbent EuroLeague.