This year’s NBA pre-season games in Abu Dhabi saw the Boston Celtics (defending champions) face off against the Denver Nuggets. (Francois Nel/Getty Images)

North American basketball’s top-tier NBA has elevated George Aivazoglou to the position of managing director for Europe and the Middle East (EME).

He will continue to be based in the top league's London (UK) office and report to Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer at the NBA.

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Aivazoglou has been serving as the interim managing director for EME for the last few weeks, after joining the NBA in the position of head of fan engagement and direct-to-consumer for that region in June 2020.

Prior to joining the basketball league, Aivazoglou was chief marketing officer for the Eurosport pan-European sports broadcaster (now part of Warner Bros. Discovery).

The NBA has said that this new role will see him "oversee the league’s business and basketball development efforts in Europe and the Middle East, focusing on growing the NBA’s popularity and business in the region.”

Aivazoglou has commented on his new position: “I look forward to continue working with our colleagues in London, Madrid and regional offices around the world to accelerate taking basketball and the NBA to new heights in Europe and the Middle East. While basketball and the NBA have a rich and storied tradition in the region, I believe we are just scratching the surface in terms of the growth potential for our sport.”

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Tatum added: “George has played an impactful role in the league’s efforts to grow basketball in Europe and the Middle East over the past four years … His business acumen and deep understanding of the media and sports industries will be hugely beneficial as we further expand the NBA’s presence in the region.”

Djamel Agaoua, the previous permanent NBA EME managing director, left for Kings League, the international soccer competition launched by Spanish soccer legend Gerard Pique and his Kosmos company, in mid-October.
 
In terms of the NBA's Middle Eastern presence, early October saw international pay-TV giant BeIN Sports extend its partnership with the league across that region and North Africa for the 2024-25 season (which got underway on October 22).

The NBA also staged two pre-season games in Abu Dhabi on October 4.

An agreement between the league and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi was unveiled in late 2021, through which pre-season games started taking place in that Emirate the following year.

In Europe, meanwhile, three regular-season games have taken place in Paris over the last four years, with another two scheduled for late January at the Accor Arena.

Earlier this week, the NBA extended and expanded its commercial agreement with US sports retail chain Foot Locker, in a multi-year deal, to now include those games in the French capital.