LONDON AND VALENCIA – The National Basketball Association (NBA), Valencia City Council and Valencia Basket today announced that the second edition of the Jr. NBA European Finals presented by Kellogg’s – an elite youth basketball tournament featuring boys and girls ages 15 and under from six European countries – will be held at Valencia Basket’s l’Alqueria del Basket training facility in Valencia, Spain from Wednesday, June 26 – Saturday, June 29.

The Jr. NBA European Finals Tournament presented by Kellogg’s will feature boys and girls divisions each comprised of six teams of 12 top youth players from England, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, the Netherlands and one more country to be confirmed at a later date.  The youth will also take part in life skills sessions, skill challenges, basketball clinics, a three-point contest, an All-Star game, and community outreach activities.  Select NBA European Ambassadors will also attend the tournament.

The announcement was made today at a launch event in Valencia by NBA Vice President of Basketball Operations, Europe and Middle East, Neal Meyer; Valencia City Councilor for Sports, Rocío Gil; and General Manager Valencia Basket Club, Enric Carbonell, who were joined by NBA European Ambassador Dino Rađa (Croatia) and WNBA European Ambassador Sonja Vasić (Serbia).

As part of the launch event, the NBA and Valencia City Council authorities unveiled two newly refurbished basketball courts for the local community and hosted a 3-on-3 game featuring guest content creators including Drafteados.  Following the event, Rađa and Vasić held Jr. NBA clinics for youth at local schools and at the l’Alqueria del Basket facility.

The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game – teamwork, respect, determination and community – at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents.  During the 2022-23 season, the Jr. NBA collectively reached 50,000 youth in 28 countries across Europe and the Middle East.

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Executive Quotes: 

Valencia City Councilor for Sports, Rocío Gil:

“The Valencia City Council is proud to associate the name of our city to the best known and recognized brand in basketball worldwide, the NBA. The European U-15 tournament that will bring over 100 youth to Valencia next June will project our city at an international level. In addition, I couldn’t be more pleased because the agreement leaves a sporting legacy in our city with the renovation of two basketball courts in front of the municipal pavilion of Fuente de San Luis.”

General Manager Valencia Basket Club, Enric Carbonell:

“You know how important it is for Valencia Basket to work with the most important institutions of our sport, and the NBA is one of them. Any collaboration of this type helps us grow and makes basketball grow. For us it is very important to host this kind of events here, to collaborate in improving a municipal basketball facility like this one and to gather almost 200 young talents in our Alqueria del Basket next June, something that reinforces it as a basketball generating center and the perfect infrastructure to train future stars.”

Marketing Director Kellanova Spain, Alba Lage:

“We’re incredibly proud to be the official partner of the Jr. NBA Programme in Europe.  To support future basketball stars across the region at a grassroots level is very important to us as they learn the core values of the game, which align with our own. We maintain a strong and constant commitment to good nutrition and physical activity, which go hand in hand. We have been betting on basketball for 18 years now, through alliances with various entities in the field of basketball at international and national level and even with the creation of our own social programs.”

NBA Vice President of Basketball Operations, Europe and Middle East, Neal Meyer:

“We’re thrilled to bring together elite youth teams from across Europe to Valencia for the second edition of the Jr. NBA European Finals Tournament in June.  On behalf of the NBA, I want to thank Valencia City Council and Valencia Basket for their continued support in making this event a reality and for helping refurbish these beautiful courts that will provide safe spaces for youth to play the game year-round.”