NBA Live Europe Road Trip - Day 5

After a much needed lie in, the crew and I headed to the Rhine River at around 3pm, to film some stuff for the upcoming NBA season which begins in a couple of weeks. The timing was perfect, as we wanted to catch NBA Commissioner Stern’s press conference. He (Stern) has as much pub’ as the players he is in charge of, so getting there early meant we could get a seat.

As expected the European interest with David Stern was massive and we were able to get a good seat to check out what the visionary had to say about the global game. After he delivered his opening speech, the floor was opened to the media to ask questions. There was a slight pause; no one raised their hand, so it was left to me to break the ice. I asked him, “is there any truth to the rumours that the NBA event will be held in London next year?”

He glanced at me for a spilt second as he thought about his response, then Stern went off on a serious tangent, giving me the kind of response that George Bush or Tony Blair would when they are not able to answer a question until they have confirmation. Stern finally came back to my question some minutes later and said, “To answer your question, there are opportunities in other major cities, including London, but as yet nothing has been confirmed”. However, the talk of this year’s NBA Live Tour is that it may take place in London next year.

The Kolnarena was not buzzing as much as the previous days Sixers Suns encounter. I suppose the fact that the German National football team had a European qualifying game accounted for this. As I pondered why the joint had many free seats, I glanced in the VIP boxes and noticed they all had the football game on their TV screens. While on the court the Suns struggled against Maccabi early on, but blew them out in the second half. The crowd did pick up slightly for the 76ers CSKA game. The team from Russia tried to upset their second NBA team in a week, after they had destroyed the Clippers in Russia.

Philadelphia had other ideas as they had also fallen to Spanish champions Barcelona last week. Allan Iverson, though evasive, had a monster game and showed why he is still one of the most feared guards in the world. He may be only 5’10” but has skills and plays much bigger than his size. Philly ran out to an easy win.

As this was my last day, I tried one last time to see AI for an interview. He came out, but I was interviewing Kyle Colver at the time and he skipped right by me…again. Later that evening I passed him (AI), he was on his own, no bodyguards. We spoke! There was not a camera or microphone in sight. It would seem he is a very private guy who just wants a simple life. Hard to believe, but true.