NBA & FIBA confirm plans to explore new European league

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis have officially announced the joint exploration of a new professional men’s basketball league in Europe – a move set to potentially shake up the basketball landscape across the continent.

The announcement, made in a joint press conference following the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting in New York and the FIBA Executive Committee meeting in Switzerland earlier in the month, is the first official confirmation of rumours that have been swirling for months: a new league is coming, and it has NBA and FIBA backing.

“The European basketball community is proud of its seven-decade history of international club competitions and the elite talent it develops,” said Zagklis.

“Yet given the sport’s popularity and the success of national team competitions, there is untapped potential in European club basketball. A new league in Europe would combine the NBA’s business acumen with the international expertise of FIBA to attract new basketball fans and investors alike, maximise club benefits, and establish synergies for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

The announcement follows a vote by NBA owners earlier in the week to move forward with the plan, as reported by Sportico.

“There’s enthusiastic support from our owners”, said Silver.

According to the Sportico report, the proposal had been in development for over a year, with the NBA exploring how it could expand its footprint in Europe and tap into a basketball ecosystem it believes could be worth up to $3 billion annually.

“The NBA and FIBA are uniquely positioned to build on the rich tradition of European basketball,” added Silver. “We look forward to collaborating with FIBA to explore the creation of a new league for fans across the continent.”

While the official press release avoided revealing detailed mechanics, the Sportico report (published ahead of the announcement) provided a deeper look into the potential league which they say will be half-owned by the NBA and half by private investors.

Permanent franchises could be based in major markets like London or Paris, with franchise fees reportedly being north of $500 million, and up to four additional teams qualifying annually through on-court performance, blending the NBA’s closed model with Europe’s meritocratic tradition.

At the press conference, Silver gave some clarity on format, saying the working model is a 16-team league — potentially 12 permanent franchises and four “play-in” spots that change yearly.

This hybrid model appears to honour European basketball’s open system while incorporating the NBA’s business-driven franchise structure.

Under the plan being explored, the new league would be integrated into the current European basketball landscape, with teams also participating in their respective national leagues. In addition to permanent teams, the league would offer clubs a merit-based pathway to qualification through the European basketball ecosystem.

As part of a new league, the NBA and FIBA would also plan to dedicate financial support and resources to the continued development of Europe’s basketball ecosystem, including club team academies and the NBA and FIBA’s existing programs to develop aspiring players, coaches and referees at all levels of the game.

Silver also made clear that while nothing is set in stone, the NBA is in ongoing discussions with existing clubs.

“We have ongoing discussion with existing clubs, some of them are huge global brands and we recognise that there’s a tremendous depth of interest.

“We are going to respect the tradition of European basketball,” Silver said. “There might be new arenas, new clubs… It’s early days, but the enthusiasm is there.”

Additional reports have linked prominent football clubs to the league, including the likes of Manchester City and Paris St Germain. It would be hard to see any NBA Europe League not including a London franchise.

“In some cases what comes with those existing clubs are huge global brands,” Silver continued.

“In some cases those brands built through global soccer, not basketball, but we recognise there is a tremendous depth of interest in people rooting for those clubs, so that becomes very relevant as well.”

Silver added that games would be the European standard of 40 minutes, not 48 minutes like the NBA, according to the BBC.

Many have been left wondering, where does this leave the EuroLeague?

Zagklis was careful in his wording, emphasising that “all clubs that play in Europe are FIBA clubs,” and noting that conversations are ongoing with clubs across the continent — including those currently competing in the EuroLeague and FIBA’s own Basketball Champions League.

Though the NBA and FIBA refrained from directly naming the EuroLeague, their intentions are clear: this new league could offer a rival vision of top-tier European basketball, with stronger commercial backing, new arenas, and a centralised business structure more in line with the NBA’s.

It’s worth noting that the EuroLeague is currently operated by a group of elite clubs who also own a stake in the league — a model that has faced criticism for its lack of commercial growth and fragmentation from the wider basketball ecosystem.

Zagklis made it clear the goal isn’t to fracture the game further, but to “unite all those things, including our top clubs.”

This wouldn’t be the NBA’s first international league. In 2021, it launched the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in partnership with FIBA — a semi-franchised league model that now features 12 teams from across the African continent.

BAL has served as a testing ground for many of the systems the NBA may now look to bring to Europe, including media rights packaging, shared commercial deals, and cross-border competition.

Given Europe’s infrastructure, talent pipeline, and media markets, a European league would be an even more ambitious step — and, from the NBA’s perspective, a more immediately lucrative one.

The NBA and FIBA say they will provide more updates in due course. In the meantime, they’ll continue discussions with clubs, cities, investors, and media partners to build out the proposal.

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