Four NBA teams to play in Europe in 2006
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-12-14 08:57

NEW YORK (AFP) - The National Basketball Association is planning a European grand tour in 2006.

The Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs will conduct camps and compete against top European clubs in seven cities in five countries in 2006 the NBA and Euroleague Basketball announced Tuesday.

The initiative, called NBA Europe Live presented by EA Sports, will entail the Sixers holding camp in Barcelona and playing an exhibition against Winterthur FC Barcelona, while the Suns will train in Treviso, Italy, and play Virtus Lottomatica Roma in Rome.

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, the 2004-05 NBA Coach of the Year, was a former star player and coach in Italy and holds Italian citizenship.

"For me personally, you can imagine how excited I am," he said. "I think it will be great for our players, and it will be a nice bonding and cultural experience."

The Sixers and Suns also will participate in a tournament in Cologne, Germany, with the 2005-06 Euroleague champion and runner-up.

The Spurs, whose team features French star Tony Parker, will train in Lyon and play a game against the French team Adecco ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, then travel to Paris for a contest against two-time Euroleague champion Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv.

The Clippers will hold camp in Moscow and play games against CSKA Moscow and Unics Kazan.

"I think this is a great opportunity for the fans in Russia to see an NBA team and how the American game is played," said Clippers forward Yaroslav Korolev, a Russian who played for CSKA Moscow during the 2004-05 season. "I am very excited because I get to play at home and show my teammates a place that most of them have never been to."