There are a number of potential problems in having a permanent NBA presence in Europe.

On February 2^nd, 1967, there was a challenge to the National Basketball Association’s claim to basketball superiority. The American Basketball Association was created and league organizers sold 10 franchises to investors in Anaheim, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oakland and Pittsburgh. The ABA folded in 1976 with the NBA taking in four franchises in Denver, in Indianapolis, in San Antonio and in Uniondale, New York. Since 1976, the NBA has ruled basketball. Now the NBA and its ownership group have decided that it is time to explore Europe not just as an off one market but to plant teams on the continent despite the fact there is an established league operating. The NBA is thinking that even though we do take Europe’s best players, we can offer a better product on the continent and that could mean battling the existing league or poaching local teams in places like Madrid, Spain or Greece. In the Basketball Association of America or the NBA’s history, the BAA or NBA took teams from the National Basketball League and the American Basketball League in the late 1940s. The NBA could establish a permanent presence in Europe very quickly.

“We are looking very closely to see if there’s an opportunity to professionalize the game to another level here, to create a larger commercial opportunity,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “And not just because commercial opportunity suggests you can grow revenue, but because we believe that with markets, if you can create proper incentives, you can get significant additional investment. And ultimately, that’s the way to grow the game at all levels.” According to the Spanish news agency Relevo, there has been some communication between the NBA and Madrid owners to gauge the Madrid ownerships’ interest in joining the NBA. There is a long way to go and politicians might have a say in the process but the NBA wants Europe.

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Real Madrid is a successful Euroleague team.

MONTREAL (AP) — Victor Hedman had a goal and an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the slumping Montreal Canadiens 5-3 Sunday in the final NHL game before the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Nick Paul, Brayden Point, Zemgus Girgensons and Anthony Cirelli also scored for Tampa Bay, which stretched its winning streak to four games. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves.

Brendan Gallagher scored twice and Christian Dvorak added a goal for Montreal, which lost its third straight and for the eighth time in nine games.

Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes was pulled early in the second period after allowing three goals on eight shots. Sam Montembeault stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief.

The NHL takes a two-week break for the tournament between Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States in Montreal and Boston.

Takeaways

Lightning: No Nikita Kucherov, no problem. Tampa Bay had plenty of offense and scored on its only power-play opportunity without its star winger. The Lightning said Kucherov was day to day with an upper-body injury.

Canadiens: Couldn’t complete a comeback after allowing goals on Tampa Bay’s first two shots. The Canadiens dominated play in the final 10 minutes, but couldn’t get the equalizer.

Key moment

Point’s power-play goal 1:05 into the second period gave the Lightning a 3-1 lead and chased Dobes. Hedman and Guentzel assisted on Point’s goal.

Key stat

Gallagher’s first goal was Montreal’s first at home in approximately three hours of game time. The Canadiens were shut out 4-0 by the New Jersey Devils on Saturday and 4-0 by the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 30.

Up next

Tampa Bay hosts Seattle on Feb. 23, while Montreal will return to action at Ottawa on Feb. 22.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl