©PA
The NBA wants to establish itself on European soil. Not with American basketball league games played on European soil, but with a genuine NBA competition bringing together the best European basketball teams.
On Thursday January 15, Berlin's Uber Arena hosted the NBA competition match between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic. On Sunday, the two NBA teams faced off at London's O2.
The NBA has a long history of traveling to Europe to play games. NBA teams have often played local basketball clubs in the past, but it wasn't until 1993 that two NBA teams faced off on a European basketball court. In 2011, the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors became the first NBA teams to play each other in Europe, specifically in London, as part of regular NBA competition.
For some time now, European players have also been turning to the more lucrative American basketball league. Players like Serbia's Nikola Jokic, Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo, France's Victor Wembanyama and Slovenia's Luka Doncic are not only superstars in the USA, but are also attracting growing interest in the NBA in Europe. So it's no surprise that the NBA has been planning for several years to create a new European league, NBA Europe, to compete with Europe's biggest basketball league, the EuroLeague.
Cooperation between the NBA and FIBA
To launch the European version of the NBA, the NBA is cooperating with FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, the international umbrella organization of basketball associations. This new top-level European league is due to start in October 2027, with 16 teams. Twelve of these teams would be allowed to play permanently in the NBA, with the remaining four places to be filled through a qualification process.
The NBA and FIBA are considering the UK (London and Manchester), France (Paris and Lyon), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Rome and Milan), Germany (Munich and Berlin), Greece (Athens) and Turkey (Istanbul) as countries where the new league should be played. To get clubs in these cities, however, they would have to be turned away from the current EuroLeague.
"We have had discussions with clubs interested in joining our league," NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the NBA website ahead of last week's game in Berlin. "We are in talks with other potential stakeholders, including media companies who want to cover the league, potential media partners and traditional sponsors who want to partner with us. We are looking into the possibilities of extending the stadium's infrastructure."
The EuroLeague won't let up
However, the EuroLeague won't let the NBA implement its plans for NBA Europe without a fight. The Athletic reports that the EuroLeague has already let Silver know in a letter that it will take legal action if the NBA attracts clubs still under contract with the EuroLeague. Of the 20 teams currently playing in the (losing) EuroLeague, eight operate in cities where the NBA wants to establish the new league.
The EuroLeague has 13 permanently licensed clubs. Nine of them have signed a new agreement to continue playing in Europe's premier league for the next ten years. Real Madrid (Spain), ASVEL (France) and Fenerbahçe (Turkey) are among the EuroLeague teams said to be interested in joining NBA Europe.
Silver also envisages an expansion of the "regular" NBA: the current 30-team NBA would be enriched by two newcomers. The cities of Seattle and Las Vegas are being considered.
(Julie Morgan with Gabriel Arnaud/ ©The Press Junction 2026 / Picture: Picture alliance - Soeren Stache)