NBA Europe Live Tour (2006-2012)
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The NBA Europe Live Tour (also known as NBA Europe Live) was a series of annual basketball exhibition tours that featured teams from the NBA and teams from Europe's top professional leagues on European soil. It was launched by the National Basketball Association and the Euroleague Basketball and it would take place during the NBA's pre-season in September of October and lasted from 2006 until 2012.
Most of the European teams were playing in the ULEB-inititated EuroLeague and Europe's 2nd-tier level EuroCup. The games of the NBA Europe Live Tour Tour were played by the NBA rules. Many legendary players like Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili have featured in the series from 2006 until 2012.
On June 14, 2005, NBA and Euroleague Basketball announced the launch of the NBA Europe Tour as part of a 2-year partnership agreement with Electronic Arts.[1] The series' website (as www.nba.com/europelive) went live in December 2005.
In October 2006, four NBA teams travelled to different European countries to conduct their first week of training camp overseas: the Philadelphia 76ers in Barcelona, Spain; the Los Angeles Clippers in Moscow, Russia; the San Antonio Spurs in France; and the Phoenix Suns in Treviso, Italy. The 76ers and the Suns also participated in the Cologne tournament which was on by the Philadelphia 76ers. It was the first time since the last McDonald's Championship in 1999 that NBA teams faced top European clubs in a tournament. The final game of the Tour in Barcelona attracted 16,236 fans which was the edition's record (Philadelphia 76ers against Barcelona).[2]
The 2008 edition featured only four NBA teams playing against each other in European cities. In 2009 the EuroLeague American Tour started alongside the NBA Europe Live with Euroleague teams touring the USA to face NBA teams.
There was no tour in 2011 due to the NBA lock-out[3][4] and the series resumed in 2012 for its final edition.[5]
Editions
| Year | Host countries | Team with best record | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Germany, Russia, France, Italy, and Spain |  San Antonio Spurs  PBC CSKA Moscow | 2-0 |
| 2007 | England, Italy, Spain and Turkey | Boston Celtics | 2-0 |
| 2008 | England, France, Germany and Spain | New Jersey Nets New Orleans Hornets | 2-0 |
| 2009 | England, and Spain | Indiana Pacers Phoenix Suns Philadelphia 76ers | 2-0 |
| 2010 | England, France, and Spain | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2-0 |
| 2012 | Germany, Turkey, Italy, and Spain | Boston Celtics | 2-0 |
- Philadelphia 76ers won the Cologne tournament in the 2006 edition beating PBC CSKA Moscow in the final.
Topscorers
| Year | Player | Points | Games | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Allen Iverson | 57 | 3 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2007 |  Andrea Bargnani | 49 | 3 | Toronto Raptors |
| 2008 | Dwyane Wade | 39 | 2 | Miami Heat |
| 2009 | Carmelo Anthony | 62 | 2 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2010 |  Amar'e Stoudemire | 43 | 2 | New York Knicks |
| 2012 | Jeff Green | 33 | 2 | Boston Celtics |
Teams with most participations
| Club | Participations | Editions |
|---|---|---|
 FC Barcelona Regal | 3 | 2006, 2011, 2012 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 2 | 2009, 2012 |
| Phoenix Suns | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 2 | 2010, 2012 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| Boston Celtics | 2 | 2007, 2012 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 2 | 2007, 2010 |
| New York Knicks | 2 | 2009, 2010 |
| Olimpia Milano | 2 | 2010, 2012 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| Lottomatica Roma | 2 | 2006, 2007 |
| Real Madrid | 2 | 2007. 2009 |
