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It also seemed that this project would be solely developed by FIBA and the NBA. "If the NBA comes to Europe, it will only be with FIBA," said FIBA Board member Darius Gudelis. However, Zagklis confirmed that the EuroLeague is also involved in these discussions. "We sat at the table all three [FIBA, EuroLeague, NBA]—and that is our job: to bring everyone to the table," Zagklis said. "Where this ends up, I cannot tell you because we are still in the process." "But the atmosphere is correct for a professional [dialogue], and then we need to see the next steps in this process. I would definitely stay to that, because anything more concrete that I give you is now perhaps immature—not only for announcement, but immature even for decision," he added.
The existing EuroLeague clubs, for instance, are not lucrative businesses and, according to team executives in this country, need to be “NBA-ized.” There is little premium seating in their arenas and currently no way to guarantee NBA-like gate receipts. For instance, sources said the NBA Paris Games 2025 at Accor Arena may have netted around $4.5 million, but that was as a one-off. Doing that nightly probably isn’t feasible. But that doesn’t mean the NBA wouldn’t like to try, maybe with a team such as Paris Saint-Germain, which is 87% owned by Qatar Sports Investments and could afford a hefty entry fee while upgrading its arena.
Adam Silver: Basketball hasn’t been nearly as successful in Europe as the size of the market might suggest
Adam Silver: "Yeah, over time—I mean, one of the things we've been looking at at the league—is whether we can help operate a new professional league in Europe. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there’s incredible basketball being played in Europe, and there are some really great teams. Several of our most recent MVPs have come from Europe. But I think, from a commercial standpoint, professional basketball hasn’t been nearly as successful in Europe as the size of the market might suggest. So that’s one path. I wouldn’t call it expansion directly, but it’s building off the NBA brand and potentially doing more in Europe. To your direct question about teams in Europe—I think, over time, it’s definitely possible. Like, I was in Paris last summer for the Olympics. The interest was off the charts. To me, it was the hottest sport there. We were selling out every game—not just the ones involving the USA. The gold medal game was USA vs. France, and the game before that—USA vs. Serbia—was some of the best basketball I’ve ever seen.
In March, QSI revealed it had been approached about the possibility of launching a basketball franchise in Paris and that it had expressed an interest. The approach related to the NBA’s potential expansion into Europe, under the moniker NBA Europe, and plans that have been developed under the leadership of commissioner Adam Silver. The Athletic reported in March that Silver would pitch the NBA Board of Governors with the outline of a plan to launch a new pro basketball league in Europe within the next couple of years. The prospective league had been hoping to attract 16 teams, which would include franchises in markets such as London and Paris, as well as possible defectors from the EuroLeague. Since then, there have been indications from NBA and EuroLeague executives that there may be a way to collaborate. EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas conceded to The Athletic that “it is becoming more obvious that we have to work together”, while NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said the NBA intends to be the “operator” of “the top tier league in Europe.”
More than two months after commissioner Adam Silver announced that the NBA is looking into the idea, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told The Athletic that the NBA continues to have discussions with potential stakeholders in the league. It has spoken with several investment banks, aside from The Raine Group, which has been working with the NBA since last year, about coming on as financial advisors before the NBA goes to market and begins to sell equity stakes in its new European league franchises.
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The president of FIBA Europe, Jorge Garbajosa, and Luis Scola were in Madrid for the Sport Summit 2025 and talked about the NBA Europe plans and other basketball issues in Europe. “The foundations have been laid,” started Garbajosa,“Basketball wants to be the most practiced sport in the world.” “The NBA sees a weakness in Europe,” he added. “The national team is the most important thing in sports, but without the clubs there is nothing,” he pointed out, “We must strengthen domestic leagues, because that’s where the best players will come from.” “What can’t be happening is that the national leagues are not linked to the best European competition,” he furthered, “The good thing about this NBA agreement with FIBA is that teams can aspire to be the highest-level competition.”
NBA Europe could include big cities like Paris, Madrid, Milan, Istanbul, Munich?
“I’d say it’s the single biggest opportunity (in Europe),” said George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s managing director for Europe and the Middle East (EME), speaking on stage at SportsPro Live at London’s Kia Oval last month. Details of the proposed new league are not yet fully defined, but the NBA’s laser-like focus on having teams in major European cities has been clear from the outset. In the UK, London and Manchester are being earmarked for representation in a 16-team competition that could also feature teams from Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Milan and Istanbul, according to Aivazoglou, when he spoke to EuroHoops.
In their efforts to establish new leagues from scratch, the NBA and GBBL are effectively operating in parallel with a view to potentially launching in time for the 2026-27 season — though in an interview with The Guardian last week, Aivazoglou declined to commit to that timeframe. The summer of 2026 is the moment when EuroLeague’s current licence agreement with its 13 shareholder clubs expires, providing them with a window to opt out. Real Madrid and Barcelona are widely believed to be keeping their options open regarding a potential NBA defection, as is ASVEL Villeurbanne, the French club majority owned by San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker.
GBBL plans to launch in the 2026-27 season with 10 teams who will face each other home and away. “But there’s another core part of our strategy, a key pillar, which is what we’re calling mini-tournaments,” he adds. “We’ll bring four clubs into a market for a weekend where there’s a proper arena. We’re having a kind of basketball festival, but more than that, it’s really a communal gathering.
Pau Gasol on NBA heading to Europe: It's an opportunity to improve European basketball model
Speaking at the launch of the 21st Pau Gasol Academy in Barcelona, former NBA and EuroLeague star Pau Gasol addressed two of the most pressing topics in international basketball—NBA expansion into Europe and the growing trend of young European talents leaving for U.S. college basketball. On the potential arrival of the NBA in Europe, Gasol was cautiously optimistic: “There’s work being done; it’s in progress. I see an initiative to improve the European basketball model, and it’s an opportunity for our sport to grow. We’ll see how it shapes up and how it progresses,” Gasol said, per MARCA.
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However, he emphasized the need for structural changes within Europe: “The European basketball model must evolve and improve. Economically, it’s not sustainable, and the vast majority of teams are losing money,” added Gasol, who sees himself in a “privileged position” to serve as a bridge between both worlds. When asked about the wave of young European players heading to NCAA programs, Gasol acknowledged the challenges local clubs face: “It’s one of FIBA’s priorities—regulating and protecting. If someone decides to leave, there should be some form of compensation for training rights. It’s a new situation that didn’t exist until now.”
Speaking about creating top-tier clubs, especially in the UK, Mark Tatum added that in the preseason, the NBA Europe Live tour format may return, with NBA clubs playing preseason games against European teams. “If we operate a top-tier competition in Europe, then we will have a big incentive to bring this back”, he clarified. Once more, Tatum wasn’t negative about Eastern European clubs joining the project, even if he implied that they might fight for their qualification via the Basketball Champions League: “There’s a role in our league for teams from Eastern Europe. We want clubs from Serbia, Israel, Turkey, and Greece”.
Mark Tatum: “In the new top-tier league, we might get the two top teams from the Basketball Champions League to qualify, and a tournament for the rest of the open spots. And the top two teams of the new league in the future may end up playing in the NBA Cup. And when we have supersonic travel down the road, we might get a European division. So all this is very exciting”.
Per Eurohoops sources, the NBA clarified beyond any doubt that the NBA Europe project will not include any teams from countries outside Europe with the exception of Israel. This means that Dubai BC, which is expected to join the EuroCup or the EuroLeague next season, is already excluded from the new project, despite the NBA’s existing collaboration in the region with Abu Dhabi, which has brought pre-season games to Etihad Arena.
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