Euroleague Basketball joins the family of French and European basketball in remembering with fondness Jean Bayle-Lespitau, the founding president of France's domestic league, the Ligue Nationale de Basket, who passed away on Wednesday at age 92.
Mr. Bayle-Lespitau, who helped create the LNB on May 6, 1987, went on to become a founded member of ULEB, the Union of European Leagues of Basketball, along with his counterparts in the Italian and Spanish domestic leagues, in 1991.
Mr. Bayle-Lespitau will be remember as a main protagonist in the professionalization and modernization of French professional basketball.
"Jean was an instrumental piece in the development of French and international basketball," Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, said. "He was one of the founders of ULEB, a very charming person, loved by all, and had an art for dialoguing and bringing people together. My thoughts are with his family and friends. He will be missed."