ACB: Is the Endesa League still the second best in the world?

Is the Endesa League the best in Europe, the second best in the world after the NBA? Or, rather, is it still? The ACB was launched on Monday at the Madrid headquarters of its main sponsor. Four days before the Super Cup in Murcia – with a Real Madrid-Barça match in the first semi-final to open the way – and two weeks from the first matchday, a debate that seemed to be buried has suddenly been sparked. Because it’s obvious.

He was a player random the one who has fanned the fire and the answer has soon arrived to Juan Toscano Anderson. During the Intercontinental Cup in Singapore this weekend, the Mexican, part of the NBA development league team that lost the final against Unicaja (FIBA Champions League champion) was clear: “I think the G League is the second best league in the world and we want to prove it.” Afterwards, while his team fell to the Ibon Navarrotried to revive his teammates with a speech during a time-out that did nothing but dig deeper into the wound: “Our dream is not to play in the fucking ACB. Our dream is not to play in the fucking Euroleague. Our dream is to play in the NBA and earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. What they are doing to us is shameful, unacceptable.”

The times of global basketball have been accentuating a trend in recent decades in terms of domestic leagues, that of the overwhelming media, economic and sporting dominance of the NBA. There are the numbers, the stars and the dreams of children from all over the planet. And the G-League is nothing other than one of the gateways to that heaven. Another issue is whether this competition that was born in 2001 with eight teams (it now has 28) can look the big teams of Europe in the eye.

Leaving aside the Euroleague (continental competition, with the best of the best leagues), the Liga Endesa is still the most powerful at a domestic level in Europe. This has been the case for the last few decades – according to the ranking prepared each season by the Eurohoops website, for example – and this is what the players demand. Especially those from the middle class. Because this is where the distances are really marked with, for example, the Turkish, Italian, French, Greek or German championships, one of which has been on the rise lately. The strength of the Russian VTB is long gone, cut short by the invasion of Ukraine and the outbreak of war.

It is not that the ACB avoids problems, from its media impact to the tyrannical dominance exercised by Madrid and Barça (of the last 14 leagues they have won 12, of the last 15 Cups, 14). But it continues to set trends in Europe and even globally (despite the rise of competitions such as the Japanese or Australian ones). Yesterday, at its presentation at the headquarters of Endesa, its protagonists had no doubts in response to ELMUNDO.

“Requirement”

“I think it’s the best. After the NBA, obviously, it’s one of the best domestic leagues. Because of the level, because there are many teams that can beat you, at home or away. Year after year it’s going up. Also in Europe: this year was the year in which the most NBA players came,” he admitted. Facundo Campazzoalthough it is true that many of those returning stars ended up in Panathinaikos (Osman said), Olympiacos (Evan Fournier, Sasha Vezenkov)Ephesus (Jordan Nwora, Stanley Johnson) Partisan (Alexey Pokusevski, Frank Ntlikina)…His former partner Juan Nuneznow at Barça after two years in the Bundesliga with Ulm, shared his opinion: “I think so. But I haven’t experienced all the leagues. From what I’ve seen, it is the best.”

In the same line Jean Monteroone of the signings of the summer (second highest scorer last season), reinforcement for Valencia. “For me it is the first. I love the ACB, I feel comfortable. It is a league that always demands you. You always have to be focused and maintain the physical and mental demands. One day you can score 30 and another zero,” reasons the Dominican. And also another point guard, Rafa Luzfrom Morabanc Andorra: «You only have to look at the players who want to play in the Endesa League. They all want to be here, they want to prioritise coming to Spain over other countries». The Brazilian points out one of the key factors, the economic one: «A top player may earn more if he is a reference in a big team from another country, but he will certainly not be as competitive or have such important collective objectives. I think that of the 18 ACB teams, 12 play in Europe. There is no need to say anything else».