NBA in Europe: What to know about new leagues potentially coming overseas

USA Today

a day ago

The last few days have featured a lot of chatter about one specific topic: Basketball in Europe. Nothing is yet finalized, but there is real momentum.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is currently in Europe and has had meetings with several important individuals about potentially starting a new league across the pond. Meanwhile, there are also some simultaneous meetings involving LeBron James and Maverick Carter as well as the agent who represents Nikola Jokić.
It makes sense that the basketball world is paying closer to attention to Europe. Last season, there were 61 players from Europe on opening-night rosters. Basketball is currently considered the No. 2 sport in Europe.
There are a lot of things happening at once, and none of it feels particularly accidental. So if you're having trouble following or just learning about it right now, let's get you up to speed.
Who has Adam Silver met with while in Europe?
The commissioner of the NBA is keeping busy on this international trip. Silver was joined by deputy NBA commissioner Mark Tatum (who is overseeing these initiatives) and the NBA's Managing Director of Europe and Middle East, George Aivazoglou.
The cohort met in London with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, representatives from the Turkish football club Galatasaray and three private equity firms (CVC, RedBird, and KKR) as well.
They then traveled to Paris to continue to meet with other potential stakeholdersi, including leaders from Spain's Real Madrid club.
This is especially significant because Real Madrid has recently produced some notable talent to the NBA, including Luka Dončić and 2025 NBA Draft first-round pick Egor Dёmin.
What are they discussing in these meetings?
The idea is that the NBA is exploring launching its own league in Europe.
The goal is to build on momentum in basketball for Europe by creating a new league to elevate the sport in more European cities.
But there are lots of details to iron out as they continue these negotiations. Some of them are included below.
How many teams would play in NBA Europe?
The composition of the league would also perhaps include both existing and potentially new franchises.
Silver, Tatum, and Aivazoglou also met with executives from Real Madrid on Thursday about the possibility of the club joining the NBA's planned European league. Real Madrid was long a rumored target potentially interested in defecting to the new venture.
Real Madrid's license agreement with EuroLeague will expire in 2026. ASVEL, Barcelona, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Bayern Munich, and Olimpia Milano will also have EuroLeague licensing agreements expiring in 2026.
According to The Athletic, sources in Europe believe that if Real Madrid leaves, "other EuroLeague clubs would follow" as well.
Former NBA player Tony Parker is president of ASVEL and told The Athletic that if the NBA comes to Europe, his club "definitely would be interested" in joining. Some of those other rumored teams include Barcelona and Fenerbahçe.
Additionally, The Athletic reported that Silver has previously met with Qatari Investment Authority (the owners of the successful soccer club Paris Saint-Germain) about starting a basketball team in Paris. This team would rival Paris Basketball, which already exists in the EuroLeague.
The report also added that the NBA has previously met with Alba Berlin to discuss joining the league as well. Alba Berlin already announced intentions to leave the EuroLeague to play in FIBA's Basketball Champions League and is speculatively a sign that they could eventually join the NBA's European League.
Other potential markets of interest would likely include London, Manchester, and Munich.
We don't yet know how many total teams will participate if it happens, in total, but we got a hint from the general manager of the Turkish football club Galatasaray, Omer Yalcinkaya, in May (via Basketnews.com):
"But now, with FIBA and the launch of NBA Europe, we see potential there. Our main goal is to be part of those 12 teams – or however many they choose – in NBA Europe. That's 100% our top goal."
The Athletic reported that the league "could include" 16 teams. The plan is likely to have 12 "permanent" clubs and four determined by a soccer-style relegation system.
What does FIBA think about all of this?
FIBA is the official world governing body for basketball, and this league is currently planned in partnership with FIBA. NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum has served on the FIBA board for more than a decade.
Here is what Andreas Zagklis, the secretary general of FIBA, said at a press conference:
"We have unanimous support to take the next step together with the NBA in the discussions for the creation of such a league. It is important for FIBA and its members to emphasize that the plan currently being reviewed, which we're still exploring, would be compatible with what FIBA and its membership, members, federations and leagues have been doing on the continent, both in terms of connection to the Basketball Champions League and to the national leagues, harmonization with the FIBA calendar, and of course an extremely important component of this is the support to the development activities of our members as well as the ones that we do jointly with the NBA, such as BWB, Basketball Without Borders, for the development of players, coaches and referees in the continent."
The league would likely play in the European format, which means a 40-minute game like fans saw during the Olympics or the World Cup.
The relegation system would likely be determined by performing well in national leagues or FIBA's Basketball Champions League.
What does the existing EuroLeague think about all of this?
The NBA has tried to partner with EuroLeague before and it reportedly did not go well.
While it sounds like they recently had a positive meeting, the EuroLeague seems less excited than FIBA.
Here is what EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejūnas told Mike Vorkunov (via The Athletic):
This new league would create confusion. It would create division and on simple terms, you go to the sponsor, and you say, 'I'm now this new, you know, NBA League.' And then we go, 'Well, we are EuroLeague.' And then, oh, there's this Champions League; oh, there's this Euro Cup. For the hardcore fans, everybody knows EuroLeague, and everybody knows Europe. And we are not afraid to lose these fans, because we believe we have a better product right away on the court.
Motiejūnas struggled to understand why any team would want to league the growing EuroLeague, which recently expanded to 20 teams for next season.
Ultimately, he said that he doesn't think the league will help the market.
How soon would any of this happen?
That much is still officially unclear, as they're still in exploratory stages, but here is what we know from Mark Tatum (via The Athletic):
"Tatum said that the European basketball league could launch in two to three years. There already seems to be some movement ahead of that."
Former Minnesota Timberwolves executive David Kahn, now president of Paris Basket, thinks that the NBA will have a presence in Europe in a "strong, meaningful way" within two years.
Meanwhile, the NBA did officially announce a three-year slate of games in Europe earlier this week.
The Memphis Grizzlies will play the first-ever regular-season games in Berlin (at Uber Arena) and then play in London (at The O2) next season.
Then in 2026, the NBA will play its first-ever game in Manchester (at Co-op Live). They will also return to Paris (at Accor Arena) in 2027. Finally, 2028 will then feature games in Berlin and Paris.
Is the same league involving Maverick Carter?
No, that is something else entirely different from the NBA's European League.
LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter, and Miško Ražnatović (who represents Nikola Jokić through BeoBasket) recently met on a boat in France. According to Rob Perez, a "third major superstar" (in addition to James and Jokić) is also participating in these conversations.
This meeting was about an international basketball league backed by Carter that was described as the "F1 of basketball" in the past (via Front Office Sports):
"The mysterious boat meeting last week in France between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter, and Nikola Jokić's European agent was about the planned international basketball league being spearheaded by Carter, multiple sources tell Front Office Sports."
They suggested that the summer of 2025 was a great time to make plans for the fall of 2026.
This is an independent touring league backed by Carter that is expected to have six men's and six women's teams that will play in eight cities. One of the reported cities, per Bloomberg, is Singapore.
The league is expected to serve as a full-time commitment, meaning unlike the 3-on-3 league Unrivaled, players cannot participate in both this league and either the NBA or WNBA.