Who are Bodiroga and Glickman and where are they taking the EuroLeague? / News - Basketnews.com

The new EuroLeague president, Dejan Bodiroga, and acting CEO Marshall Glickman might bring exciting changes to the top club competition in Europe.

Credit: EuroLeague Basketball Credit EuroLeague Basketball

It's been two weeks since the EuroLeague had new people in charge. Dejan Bodiroga and Marshall Glickman are adjusting to their roles as the new leaders of the strongest club competition in Europe.

Dejan Bodiroga

Position:SFAge:49Height:205 cmWeight:110 kgBirth place:Zrenjanin, SerbiaProfileNewsStatistics

What novelties are they expected to bring to the league? BasketNews explored it with several sources around the EuroLeague.

Glickman and Bodiroga just recently started their work at EuroLeague headquarters. However, they probably have spent more time on the road visiting the EuroLeague shareholders than at the office.

The new leaders are listening more than talking by themselves so far. According to BasketNews sources, one of the primary goals is to fix the damaged relationship between the shareholders.

The unity got cracked during Jordi Bertomeu's dismissal process. Some EuroLeague clubs still can't accept the CEO shift, stating Bertomeu's disposal, encouraged by other teams, was illegal.

Some are not very pleased with the power shift at the EuroLeague shareholders' board since Maccabi Tel Aviv is among the clubs guiding the new leadership.

EuroLeague named Dejan Bodiroga the new president and Marshall Glickman the CEO of the EuroLeague.

Bodiroga, 49, needs no further introduction.

He is a three-time EuroLeague, three-time European, and two-time World champion.

Serbian basketball legend, well known as one of the most skilled European players who never went to the NBA. The winner who preferred making headlines with his game rather than with his statements.

Bodiroga is a pure basketball operations person. And not some regular clerk: "Smart basketball ops guy," as some sources described him.

His first post-retirement job was the GM of Virtus Rome between 2007 and 2009. From 2011 to 2015, Bodiroga served as the vice president of the Serbian basketball federation.

He was the one who convinced Sasa Djordjevic to take over the Serbia national team in 2013. It wasn't the most attractive job at the time due to a difficult period for the team. Over six years, Djordjevic brought Serbia to the finals of the Rio Olympics 2016, World Cup 2014, and EuroBasket 2017.

Bodiroga also functioned as a solid face of the Serbian basketball federation, carrying huge worldwide respect from the basketball community.

He is expected to have the same role as the EuroLeague president.

Credit FIBA

The business and marketing side is the greatest strength of the acting CEO Marshall Glickman.

A former Portland Trail Blazers president had been advising Bertomeu for almost two decades. But now, he will have full power in his hands (only approved by the shareholders) to translate his ideas into reality.

People who know Glickman describe him as a very business-oriented executive pushing as hard as possible to maximize revenues.

He has almost four decades of experience working in the sports and entertainment business, with clients that include ATP, La Liga, and French Ligue 1.

He runs G2 Strategic, which provides business counsel services focusing on commercial assets, monetization, growth, new markets, guest experience, sales strategy, ticket sales, digital transformation, venue design, finance, and revenue generation.

Glickman was on the EuroLeague Chief Business Officers Board, which took the lead in the definition of the collective business strategy and the collaboration framework between the league and the clubs, maximizing revenue generation.

It is expected that under Glickman's leadership, marketing, ticketing, and TV rights will be at the forefront of the EuroLeague's agenda.

He has experience working as the NBA broadcasting coordinator and dealing with the major broadcasters in the US. He also worked in the NBA properties as director of media sales.

Glickman will bring his American approach and NBA cases that could be used in Europe to develop the EuroLeague product.

One of the key areas includes working on the image of the EuroLeague players and improving the off-the-court product that could generate revenues, sources tell BasketNews.

As BasketNews sources suggested, Glickman's creative mindset might impact the EuroLeague format or calendar changes.

More teams in the playoffs? Play-ins? Games on weekends? That's something that wouldn't surprise some basketball community members who know Glickman and his approach.

Credit EuroLeague

There's also a belief that EuroLeague might be willing to fix the relationships with FIBA, including potential calendar changes.

Of course, the EuroLeague shareholders will need to approve these ideas, and it might be difficult knowing how some teams are still far apart from the shared direction of the league.

With Bodiroga and Glickman in the EuroLeague office, no significant strategic changes have been made. It's hard to expect any major modifications soon.

However, when things settle down, and if teams manage to get on the same page, you might see some exciting adjustments.

Teams and basketball fans have high hopes after the leadership change in the EuroLeague. It won't be easy to meet their expectations.

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