NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announces the ‘exploration’ of a new men’s basketball league in Europe.
NEW YORK – Having benefited for years from the European imports who fill out rosters, flash remarkable skills and these days pile up All-Star berths and MVPs, the NBA is about to return the favor by taking its act overseas.
In a joint announcement Thursday with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced the “exploration” of a new men’s basketball league in Europe. Silver and FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis met with reporters in the afternoon after briefing NBA owners at this week’s Board of Governors meetings.
Basketball ranks as the No. 2 sport in Europe behind only soccer, with a long-established fan base and a system of national and club teams. What the NBA and FIBA have identified, however, is an opportunity gap between the game’s wide popularity and the degree to which it currently is commercialized across the continent.
Specifics for the venture are few at this early stage. Silver mentioned a league of 16 teams, with 12 permanent members and four spots available to play into or be relegated out of the group each season. Franchises would awarded in a mix of existing club teams, potentially with some defectors from the Euroleague, and start-ups. They would based in proven markets and European capitals, as well as those considered to be underserved current and future hotbeds.
Silver said NBA owners participate in partnership with the new league itself, not in the ownership of individual clubs.
The NBA has marketed itself overseas for years, making its televised product available and staging games and events. Dating back to former commissioner David Stern, the idea of a European version has been imagined and discussed.
It’s important to remember this is the start of studying and researching the new league, not the official announcement of its debut.
“One of the things I’m fascinated in exploring,” Silver said, “is to the extent we have the ability to create a league from scratch. How would we do things different based on 79 years of learning in the NBA and based on decades of learning for FIBA?”
Silver said the project received enthusiastic support from NBA owners Thursday. Zagklis indicated the same response from the FIBA Executive Committee meeting earlier this month in Mies, Switzerland.
“There is untapped potential in European club basketball,” the FIBA official said. “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.”
Not all of the agenda items at the Board of Governors sessions were about the European project. Silver touched on several in a question-and-answer exchange:
• On this season’s TV ratings, which have perked up: “No question, we started slow. We were up against a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, a presidential election that commanded enormous interest, and our ratings were down significantly early in the season. [But] the ratings for the last two months were the highest in six years, which has enabled us to get to roughly even with last year.”
• On NBA expansion: “The short answer is no new developments.”
One reason the league appears to have paused on expansion is the uncertainty related to regional sports networks and how that might affect newly added markets.
• On the sale and transfer of ownership of the Boston Celtics: “The Grousbeck family and the buyer are still working through those arrangements on exactly how that would work in terms of CEO roles and governor roles during some transition.”
• On the still-pending sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the wake of the arbitration ruling favoring buyers Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez: “[Longtime owner] Glen Taylor does have the right to appeal, and I know he is considering his various options right now. I believe he’s also talking directly to [Lore and Rodriguez], so we’re on hold there and waiting for decisions among the parties.”
• On the sideshow aspects of NBA media coverage, such as the recent hubbub pitting LeBron James vs. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith: “There’s seemingly as much social media interest in this league at times than all the other leagues combined, so it’s a two-edged sword. Sometimes it’s measured in column inches, and it’s wonderful to see so much interest in our sport. At other times I cringe at a lot of the coverage.”
• On ‘tanking,’ as losing teams fight for the bottom in search of better draft lottery odds, hurting the game’s integrity: “We don’t have a new plan at the moment. We have a competition committee meeting [Friday]. … Worst part of my job is fining and chasing teams and seemingly getting into coaches’ decisions about minutes and everything else. But we also want to make sure we’re upholding the integrity of the competition as well.”
• On All-Star Weekend and whether this year’s mini-tournament format was the solution the NBA sought: “It was a miss. We’re not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of and that our players can be proud of. … We sell competition, and I think that our players recognize they’re not putting their best foot forward.”
Silver said NBC, back as one of the league’s TV partners, will carry All-Star Weekend next February and is eager to present the event in Los Angeles. He noticed the popularity of the NHL’s “national squad” tournament, but isn’t sure a USA vs. World format is right for the NBA next year.
“So we’re a bit back to the drawing board,” the commissioner said.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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