How Do European Teams Fare Against the NBA?
Contrary to popular belief, U.S. pro basketball squads and European teams have been actively competing for a very long time in direct competition other than at the Olympics. Back in 1987 the Milwaukee Bucks defeated Tracer Milan of Italy, 123-111, in the opening game of the initial McDonald's Open, located at the Milwaukee Arena. The Bucks defeated the Soviet National Team, 127-100, in the championship game of the tournament which was supported by the NBA and FIBA.
The next year, in the inaugural 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 U.S. pro team to play in the Soviet Union when they defeated the Soviet Georgia All-Stars, 85-84, in a pre-season game.
By the third year, the McDonald's Championship moved to Rome, Italy. At that venue, 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 thumped Barcelona in their tournament opener and went on to beat Jugoplastika Split 135-129 to win the title.
In 1991 it was the 'city of lights' that 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 running the point, the Lakers thumped CSP Limoges before edging out Joventut Badalona 116-114 to win the title.
It was 1993 which saw the first pre-season game between two NBA teams ever played in Europe, the Orlando Magic, behind 14 fourth-quarter points from Dennis Scott, thumped 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 pre-season game in Paris, as part of the NBA Europe Games 2003, in front of a sell-out crowd of 14,480. The then-World Champion Spurs won 105-93 and Spurs point-guard Tony Parker received a standing ovation when he won the MVP in front of his home crowd. After the game, the Memphis Grizzlies went to Barcelona where they played local team FC Barcelona on October 10. Memphis won the game 91-80 and big man Pau Gasol, former player for FC Barcelona, put his many skills on full display.
Matthew Paolini is a Aurora, IL-based freelance writer with Citybook.com Online Yellow Pages.
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