NBA Considers Adding New League in Europe, Commissioner Adam Silver Says

The NBA is escalating talks with FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, about how to best increase its competitive footprint in Europe, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. These talks include the potential of the NBA starting an annual competition or a separate NBA-operated league on the continent.

It’s not clear how far along the talks are, and there is no timetable established for decisions. However, after the NBA completed negotiations for the league’s new media rights deal, slated to start with the 2025-26 season, Silver said conversations with FIBA are “much more serious.”

‘We certainly haven’t made any definitive decisions,’ Silver said. ‘I continue to believe there’s enormous opportunity here. It’s not something where we’ll transform a league structure in the short term. But I think that there’s an appetite among our team owners for additional investment in global basketball. We have a huge initiative in China. We have a huge initiative in Africa. Given the quality of the basketball here in Europe, it would seem to make sense that we should be doing something here as well.’

Silver said he has no preference on whether the answer is a new league or a new competition. He said his trip to the Olympics provides him and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum a chance to talk with FIBA executives, league executives and other stakeholders about the future, and Silver likened it to a listening tour.

The article, written by The AP’s Tim Reynolds, noted the timing to expand the NBA’s presence in Europe has never seemed better, given the league’s recent boom of elite European talent. The list of European NBA stars includes Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama, among others. An additional mark of the NBA’s European connection growing: Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are scheduled to play the Indiana Pacers this season in a January back-to-back series in Paris.

Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, also reporting on Silver’s comments (subscription required), noted that an NBA-operated league or competition in Europe would directly compete with the already-established EuroLeague. Silver said the NBA wants whatever it decides to do in Europe to be “additive to the European basketball structure.”