NBA reportedly in ‘serious conversation’ with FIBA for league in Europe to rival EuroLeague

If there is one thing NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis agree upon, it is that there is a lot more money to be made in Europe from basketball.

“There’s agreement that where we are in terms of the level of interest in basketball in Europe is not commensurate with the commercial activities…” Silver said back in September after Zagklis had spoken to NBA owners. “I think the way all of us see it, it’s not just about a business opportunity… I think for basketball to continue to grow, we need — whether it’s a series of tournaments or a league that is viable.”

Now Zagklis has confirmed that the NBA and FIBA are in a “serious conversation” about starting a new European league, which would likely try to draw top clubs and compete with the existing EuroLeague. Here is what Zagklis said in his year-end news conference, via Joe Varden at The Athletic.

“There is clear interest (by the NBA) and there are ongoing discussions with FIBA,” Zagklis said… “We’ve been having and will continue having discussions with … the company that operates the EuroLeague. It is something that has been on our radar. We tried to bring everyone together. This was not possible. So our job is to continue having serious conversations with our partners at the NBA.”

The EuroLeague works similarly to the way the Champions League (and the Europa League) work for soccer, except that there are 13 permanent members — international powerhouse clubs such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona — and those clubs are automatically in the EuroLeague every year, with spots open for 13 other clubs to play their way into the tournament. Those 13 permanent members run the EuroLeague itself under a license.

While those groups agreed to extend their EuroLeague licenses — which are up after the 2025-26 season — the teams have not formally signed the deal. It’s not hard to imagine the NBA and FIBA stepping in with their own league, which could provide some financial benefit for teams and poach some (or many) top clubs.

FIBA has wanted to get into club basketball, both for the money but also because of how it expanded Olympic qualifying. There were qualifying events held in November and February where not only were NBA players not participating, but players from top European clubs were unavailable because they were competing in the EuroLeague. This new potential venture would control its own schedule and could theoretically get players into some FIBA events they missed.

For the NBA, this could be about player development — there were 125 international players on NBA rosters to start this season, and Silver has openly coveted the European academy system of player development.

“It’s a global market…” Silver said during the 2024 NBA Finals. “We’re up to about 30% of our players are international. When you think about the amount of basketball being played globally and the U.S. is a little less than 5% of the global population, that number of international players will only rise.”

Everyone is following the dollars (or, Euros) — the NBA is getting into this to expand its international footprint and make more money, FIBA and EuroLeague are fighting over money, and the European clubs in play would go to the system that will make them the most money.

The NBA’s growth in the next decade will likely be more international than domestic (outside of the massive new television rights deal) and this is exactly the kind of move the league would like to make to expand its footprint in Europe.