NBA, FIBA Take Euro-Steps To Form A League In Europe: ‘It Is The Right Time’

By Barry Janoff

March 27, 2025: Stressing the fact plans were far from being finalized, the NBA and FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball), the International governing body for basketball, said they have taken the next moves in exploring the potential of forming a league in Europe separate from the ones that currently exist

The NBA and FIBA said they would “continue discussions that began more than a year ago with prospective investors, teams, arena developers and commercial partners.”

“We are ready to go to the next stage, and that is to explore a potential league in Europe with FIBA as our partner,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during a media conference in New York alongside FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis following a league board of governors meeting

“The NBA has been operating in Europe for decades, selling our programming, planning our games both pre-season friendly and regular season games such as the Paris Games we played in January. Many of us were in Paris (for the 2024 Olympics) and it gave us the opportunity to have further discussions with many different stakeholders about the opportunity to bring the sport to what we view as the next level.”

According to Silver, “The response we've gotten from the marketplace is very positive. Whether it's from media partners, whether it's from fan research that we've done, discussions directly with FIBA, advertising agencies and other clubs in Europe, several of them who have also been enthusiastic about the potential opportunity to better serve basketball fans in Europe."

The NBA and FIBA said a new professional men’s basketball league in Europe “would bring the sport to more European fans and accelerate the game’s growth across the continent.”

The top-tier pro basketball league there is the EuroLeague, which was founded under the auspices of FIBA in 1957. Since 2000, the 18-team group has been overseen by Euroleague Basketball, a private company, in conjunction with global media, entertainment and sports firm IMG.
 
Under the plan being explored by the NBA and FIBA, the new league would be “integrated into the current European basketball landscape, with teams also participating in their respective national leagues.”

"We're going to have a full range of discussions," Zagklis said during the media conference. “I want to be clear about the openness of our position, at least speaking for FIBA right now, on these discussions. This is very important, that we are having these conversations for our fans and for the development and growth of our sport.

"This does not mean that this happens to the detriment of other stakeholders. It's actually trying to raise the tide for everyone in European basketball."

The NBA oversees the WNBA, the G League and the Basketball Africa League. In addition to Paris, it has also played regular season games in London and Mexico City.

“Coming out of the most successful World Cup and Olympics ever, we also believe it is the right time to take the next step for club basketball,” Zagklis said.

“Our role as a federation is to unite the basketball ecosystem.

Basketball is the No. 2 sport in Europe," said Silver. ”It's widely popular. Hundreds of millions of fans.

“Roughly 15% of the players in the NBA right now are from Europe. Five out of the last six of our MVPs have been European. But there's a huge gap, I think, between the amount of interest in the sport and the development in terms of how we operate a league here in North America."

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."

"A new pro men’s basketball league in Europe would bring the sport to more European fans and accelerate the game’s growth across the continent.”
 
“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, maximize club benefits, and establish synergies for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
 
“The NBA and FIBA are uniquely positioned to build on the rich tradition of European basketball,” said Silver. We look forward to collaborating with FIBA to explore the creation of a new league for fans across the continent.”

“It's early days, So literally nothing has been agreed upon yet. We're still in the modeling, exploratory stage."

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