The NBA rounds up football giants for its own league in Europe

According to US media, the NBA is close to deals with PSG, Barcelona, Bayern, Real Madrid and Milan - clubs that would become the pillars of the new NBA Europe league, due to tip off in October 2027. Deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and vice president George Aivazoglou held talks with them at the annual conference of European football clubs in Copenhagen, even though PSG and Milan currently have no basketball team at all. The plan is 16 teams, 12 of them permanent, in London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Istanbul, Madrid, Athens, Barcelona, Manchester and Lyon. EuroLeague shareholders meet in Italy on 5 October, and the NBA's proposal for a possible takeover will be on the table. Belgrade, with some of the loudest stands on the continent, is not on that map. Will the new league be built by football brands rather than by arenas that live for basketball?

Red Star on a final warning: lasers, flares and objects on the court

Crvena Zvezda received a final warning from the EuroLeague over fans' behaviour at their first-round game against Žalgiris. According to the report, lasers were used from the stands, abusive chants were aimed at players and referees, flares were lit and objects were thrown onto the court. The club is already playing under a sanction, with arena capacity capped at 80 percent because of incidents last season. Red Star themselves point out that over the years they have paid hundreds of thousands of euros in fines and played games in front of empty or half-empty stands. Ahead of home games against Hapoel and Anadolu Efes, the club told its fans plainly: one more incident means closed doors or drastically reduced capacity, plus a huge fine. Red Star's greatest strength is once again its most expensive weakness.

Westbrook retires, Oklahoma bows

Russell Westbrook has ended his career after 18 seasons in the NBA, and Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault paid tribute to him at the start of training camp. "He is one of the giants of the game, not just in Oklahoma City but in the history of the league," Daigneault said, stressing the fearless, competitive spirit he brought to the court. He added that Westbrook still works for the community in the city he came to love. Few players have left such a clear mark on one club - and few clubs admit it so openly.

Mekić returns to Kumanovo

Ahead of the start of the Superleague, Kumanovo have signed Adem Mekić, a 30-year-old Macedonian international and 197-centimetre wing. In the pre-qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup he averaged 7.5 points and 3.5 rebounds, and he has played in Croatia, Kosovo, Romania and at home - MZT, Pelister, Vardar and TFT. His team finished first in the regular season of the Croatian league this year, and before Kumanovo he was also in talks with Zadar. His contract has a clause allowing him to leave only if an offer comes from abroad - Kumanovo know a player like this is not kept forever. For Mekić it is a return to a familiar jersey: he played here from 2017 to 2019. The season for Marin Dokuzovski's team starts away at champions MZT, who also won the Super Cup between the two sides.

Sestina and Jakimovski: Macedonians who stood out in Europe

New Macedonian international Nate Sestina was ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne's top scorer with 14 points, two rebounds and three assists in just over 22 minutes, but it was not enough against Panathinaikos. Željko Obradović's team won 102:79 in Athens, a tenth straight win over the French club - and that without five injured key players. Andrej Jakimovski had a better night: on his EuroCup debut he scored 11 points with four rebounds in 23 minutes, and Napoli beat defending champions Bourg 84:76. The clubs' results went different ways, but in both box scores a Macedonian name stood among the most notable.