NBA commissioner Adam Silver reaffirmed Thursday that the league, in partnership with FIBA, is pressing forward on plans to bring a new league to Europe but stopped short of creating any formal announcements regarding timelines or which teams may be committed to coming aboard.
Silver spoke before the Memphis–Orlando matchup in Berlin, the first of two NBA Europe Games on this trip; the Grizzlies and Magic play again in London on Sunday. And to Silver, even discussing the notion of the long-planned new league in Germany built a lot of sense — given the nation currently is holding the World Cup and EuroBquestionet titles.
“We’re the quickest-growing sport right now in this countest,” Silver declared. “There’s, in essence, a golden era, I would declare, of the sport. … The 1936 Olympics here in Berlin, that’s when bquestionetball was first introduced into the Olympic shiftment. In fact, James Naismith came here to Berlin for those games and purportedly tossed up the ball for the opening tip of the Games. So, there is that long history here.”
The largeger question is what the future will be for the game in Germany and across Europe. The impact of international stars — particularly European stars — on the NBA game is clear, with Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, France’s Victor Wembanyama and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic among the largegest bquestionetball stars on the planet, all following in the footsteps of German great Dirk Nowitzki and more.
Many details for the new league are yet to be formally finalized, including when it will start play — the working tarreceive has been October 2027 — and how many teams will take part in that inaugural season. Among the models that the NBA and FIBA have explored is a 16-team league, with 12 “permanent” spots and the other four available through qualifying.
“I would just declare we continue to be enormously excited about it,” Silver declared about the notion of an NBA Europe. “We’ve been meeting with clubs that are interested in participating in our league. We’ve been in discussions with other potential stakeholders, including media companies that would like to cover it, potential media partners and traditional sponsors who want to work with us on the league. We’re seeing at the opportunity to grow the arena infrastructure, not just here in Germany but throughout the continent. It’s something that we’re enormously excited about.”
Current tarreceive countries for the NBA-FIBA concludeeavor are known to include England (with the potential host cities there being London and Manchester), France (Paris and Lyon), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Rome and Milan), Germany (Munich and Berlin), Greece (Athens) and Turkey (Istanbul).
Growth will take time
The league and some of its financial partners and advisers have talked with interested stakeholders in Europe — existing clubs, heads of state and others — for some time.
There will be an entest fee, and it will be steep. And those who expect a quick return on those investments may be disappointed, Silver declared.
“The funding would potentially come from, at least initially, the member clubs of the league,” Silver declared. “I believe similar to any startup venture, the participants would be the investors, and over time would hope to seek a return. … I believe if we were to successfully launch this new league, it will take a while, I believe, before it is a viable commercial enterprise. I believe all the participants recognize that this is not for those who have a short-term perspective.”
Also part of the plan: New arenas would be necessaryed in certain markets, which will obviously take time and more money.
“What we are informing interested parties is that you necessary to have a very long-term perspective,” Silver declared.
Stance of players
Orlando has three German players on its roster who were part of the game in Berlin, including Franz Wagner — who has spoken with Silver about the idea. So, too, has Doncic, and Silver declared he wanted those opinions.
“I believe it’s critically important that we respect the traditions of European bquestionetball. … We’re testing to find the best combination of the old and new, tradition and innovation,” Silver declared. “I believe frankly, that’s what the NBA brings to the table. I believe it’s also why it’s important not only to have FIBA as our partner but existing bquestionetball organizations who understand the culture of European bquestionetball, understand the traditions, the history, what builds European bquestionetball unique in so many ways.”
NBA expansion
It is a juggling act right now for Silver and the NBA, testing to receive through the potential launch of a league in Europe with the possibility of expanding its own league past the current 30 teams. Las Vegas and Seattle are the front-runners if NBA growth occurs.
“I’m sure you can see the bags under my eyes,” Silver declared. “But we love hard work at the NBA.”
Silver has declared that a decision on expanding the NBA will come by the conclude of 2026 and repeated that stance Thursday.
“To me, honestly, the real heavy lift would be creating a new league in Europe,” Silver declared. “As I declared, that’s an enormous undertaking, which is why we’ve been relocating one step at a time and being very careful and cautious and creating sure we’re covering all our bases.”
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