Euro Pass: Four NBA Teams To Hold Training Camp In Europe

The Spurs, Clippers, Suns and 76ers will hold training camps next October in Lyon, France; Moscow; Treviso, Italy; and Barcelona, respectively, and “play against top European teams in seven cities in five countries,” according to Greg Boeck of USA TODAY. NBA Europe Live presented by EA Sports is the “next step in an NBA team ultimately landing overseas.” The trip will end with 76ers-Suns and the ’05-06 Euroleague champion playing the Euroleague runner-up October 10 in Cologne, Germany, with the winners and losers playing October 11. NBA Commissioner David Stern called the initiative “the most ambitious international competition in league history.” Stern: “This is our next step in demonstrating we are prepared to treat the rest of the world as more than a one-stop location for an exhibition game.” Stern added that the NBA is also “looking into playing an exhibition game” in Mexico next October and will return to Europe in ’07. Boeck notes the Spurs have an NBA-high seven int’l players, including French G Tony Parker, and Suns coach Mike D’Antoni coached Italian League team Benetton Treviso to two league titles. Clippers F Yaroslav Korolev is one of five Russians in the NBA (USA TODAY, 12/13).