Yes, Rome.<\/p>\n
![\"Luka](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/los-angeles-lakers-guard-luka-120509833.jpg\")
Don\u010di\u0107 is reportedly part of an investor group seeking to bring a franchise to Rome as part of the NBA\u2019s bold new venture. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The Eternal City. The Colosseum. A market dripping in history and starving for top-tier professional basketball.<\/p>\n
Nelson, 63, is the son of former NBA coach and executive Don Nelson, and was the architect of the 2018 draft-night trade to acquire Don\u010di\u0107 from the Atlanta Hawks. According to The New York Times report, Nelson\u2019s investment group has a preliminary agreement to purchase Vanoli Basket Cremona, a northern Italian club that holds a coveted Serie A license.<\/p>\n
That license is the golden key. Any team in the new NBA Europe League must also compete domestically, and Cremona\u2019s spot in Italy\u2019s top league provides the legal and structural foothold.<\/p>\n
From there, the real play begins.<\/p>\n
Sources told The New York Times, that the group would establish a new franchise roughly 330 miles south in Rome, a city NBA commissioner Adam Silver has identified as a cornerstone market for the league\u2019s projected 2027 launch<\/a>. Rome currently has no top-division basketball team \u2014 a sleeping giant in a sports economy that understands spectacle and legacy better than most capitals on Earth.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> Silver\u2019s NBA Europe project is not a side hustle. With projected buy-ins reportedly exceeding $1 billion in markets like London, this is high finance meets hardwood ambition. Investment heavyweights \u2014 Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund, RedBird Capital, Sixth Street, Blackstone, Arctos \u2014 have circled. JP Morgan and the Raine Group are helping structure the gold rush.<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107, born in Ljubljana and raised in Madrid\u2019s basketball cathedral, is no stranger to the European basketball market. He is the perfect spokesperson and embodiment of the global model Silver is trying to institutionalize. He isn\u2019t just investing in a team. He\u2019s investing in infrastructure, access and the next generation of European phenoms who won\u2019t need to detour through someone else\u2019s system.<\/p>\n And Don\u010di\u0107 is not alone, former San Antonio Spurs point guard, and French native, Tony Parker, owns ASVEL, a team near the city of Lyon that is expected to join NBA Europe as well<\/a>. Even former Lakers champion Pau Gasol is interested in a leadership role in the new league.<\/p>\n However, ownership rules for active NBA players remain unsettled. Conflicts of interest must be ironed out. Serie A mandates a two-year waiting period before a relocated franchise can change its name. But none of that feels insurmountable for Nelson and Don\u010di\u0107.\u00a0<\/p>\n If this Rome franchise materializes, it won\u2019t just be another expansion team. It will be a declaration that the European basketball ecosystem is no longer a feeder system.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe California Post is here. Sign up for Morning Report.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n It\u2019s a marketplace.<\/p>\n And Luka Don\u010di\u0107 intends to own a piece of it.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t
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