NBA

David Stern and FIBA In Talks To Create “The World Cup of Basketball”

International basketball has recently been criticized for its lack of involvement of star NBA players. While the United States took home the gold at the 2010 World Championships, the team was without the likes of LeBron, Wade, Kobe, and a host of other big names. The star players that won gold medals in Bejing in 2008 opted not to compete in international play two years ago, citing various reasons (injuries, fatherhood, dentist appointments, catching up on “Boston Legal”), and created a less popular tournament.

Here’s how David Stern and FIBA are trying to resolve these absences.

The NBA and FIBA have reportedly been in talks to create the “World Cup of Basketball,” an NBA-involved and operated international super tournament. Under the current international format, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) controls the majority of the revenue. Stern said the league hopes to push the participation of players under the age of 23 in the Olympics–much like many countries do for soccer–and shift its star players toward this new World Cup.

The issue at hand is the NBA is going to stop sending its best players to international tournaments if things do not change. Without seeing most of the money being generated by these games, and running the risk of losing a player to injury, it’s a high risk, low reward situation for team owners.

Mark Cuban, who has been vocal in the past about the Olympic basketball debate, had this to say:

“The question is: Why would we partner with a current tournament rather than start our own?” Cuban said. “If done correctly, it can be NBA-owned and operated and have the potential to be just as large as the World Cup of soccer. That is a product, in my opinion, we want to own, not share.

“I don’t know what the NBA plan is, but the above is what I will be pushing for.”

One question remains: If the NBA was to create its own international tournament, much like soccer’s World Cup, and the NBA was to control that tournament, would it also be poorly officiated? BADUM-CHING!

[Slam Online via Yahoo! Sports]

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