Such players as Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, Steve Nash, Chris Bosh, Klemen Prepelić, Vlatko Čančar, Nikola Vucevic, Bogdan Bogdanović, Luis Scola, Robin Lopez and Boban Marjanović appeared on the basketball court in the symbolic match. Goran Dragic, who became the European Champion and the Most Valuable Player of the European Championship (2017), the NBA’s Most Improved Player (2014), was selected as a member of the NBA’s third symbolic five (2014) and participated in the NBA All-Star Game (2018) .), scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 7 assists in the game.
“I have never seen such emotions at any basketball event. I would say that it was one of the best basketball events of all time in the history of Europe and it was an example of how to thank and honor a player who, in addition to his professional career, does a lot of very prominent, very significant and socially beneficial work, – said the LKF General Secretary, who visited the event at the invitation of the organizers Mindaugas Balčiūnas. – My personal acquaintance with Goran began a good ten years ago, when, while visiting Kaunas, he came to one of our events dedicated to youth education and training of basketball players. Even then, you could see that the basketball player has a much broader approach. He sees the use of basketball as a social phenomenon to solve society’s problems.”
Speaking about the conversations of the guests gathered at the celebration, M. Balčiūnas noted that a lot of attention was paid to discussions about the development of European club basketball.
“All the main people of the basketball world, both players and heads of various organizations, both FIBA, Euroleague and NBA, came to this event. It can be seen that there are still very different views on the future of European basketball. Of course, the Euroleague has its own vision, I would say that it is an organization that is experiencing many challenges, especially with management. FIBA’s direction is very clear – cooperation with the NBA and everyone is waiting for the NBA’s decisions together. They will radically determine the changes in European basketball that will take place in the near future.
As in the recent speech of Adam Silver (NBA commissioner – ed.), it was said that it is already clear how the action plan will be implemented, it is only being laid out. That plan very clearly shows the direction – cooperation with FIBA and the establishment of a new structure in Europe so that European basketball, especially club basketball, eventually becomes commercialized. Local resources – population and commerce – are huge, but so far none of the operating organizations has commercialized it and made it useful for the clubs and the entire basketball community,” said M. Balčiūnas.
“Such holidays, which have not only sporting benefits, but also social, basketball popularization, are really lacking in Lithuania. This direction will also be strengthened in the future, I think more and more of our players will receive the necessary attention for their career contribution not only to the development of basketball, but also to the development of the entire social life”, noted one of the LKF managers.
2024-08-26 17:45:20