Has European Professional Basketball Caught up to the NBA?
Contrary to popular belief, NBA and Euroleague teams have been squaring off for a very long time in head-to-head competition other than at the Olympics. Back in 1987 the Milwaukee Bucks trounced Tracer Milan of Italy, 123-111, in the opening game of the first McDonald's Open, located at the Milwaukee Arena. The Bucks defeated the Soviet National Team, 127-100, in the championship game of the tournament sanctioned by the NBA and FIBA.
The next year, in the very first McDonald's Championship to be held in Europe, the Boston Celtics beat Real Madrid 111-96 at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, Spain.
Also in 1988, the Atlanta Hawks became the first NBA team to compete in the Soviet Union when they vanquished the Soviet Georgia All-Stars, 85-84, in an exhibition game.
In its third year, the McDonald's Championship moved to Rome, Italy. This time, the Denver Nuggets represented the National Basketball Association against the Spanish Champion F.C. Barcelona, the European Champion Jugoplastika Split, and Philips Milan. The Nuggets vanquished Barcelona in their tournament opener and went on to beat Jugoplastika Split 135-129 to capture the title.
In 1991 the so-called 'city of lights' was the site for McDonald's Championship. The Los Angeles Lakers traveled to Paris, France to compete against the host team CSP Limoges, Joventut Badalona and Slobodna Dalmacija Split of the former Yugoslavia. With Magic Johnson taking charge, the Lakers thumped CSP Limoges before eking out a win versus Joventut Badalona 116-114 to claim the title.
It was 1993 which saw the first pre-season game between two NBA teams ever played in Europe, the Orlando Magic, with 14 fourth-quarter points from Dennis Scott, defeated the Atlanta Hawks 120-95 before a full crowd of 9,483 at Wembley Arena in the opening of the two-game NBA London Games series.
In 2003, the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies played an NBA preseason game in Paris, as part of the NBA Europe Games 2003, in front of a overflowing crowd of 14,480. The then-World Champion Spurs won 105-93 and Spurs player Tony Parker received a standing ovation when he won the MVP in front of his home crowd. After the aforementioned game, the Memphis Grizzlies flew to Barcelona where they played local team FC Barcelona on October 10. Memphis took the game 91-80 and Grizzlies center Pau Gasol, former player for FC Barcelona, put his many skills on full display.
About the Author
Matthew Paolini is a Minneapolis, MN-based freelance writer with Citybook.com Online Yellow Pages
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