The NBA continues to explore creating a new European league, including leadership meetings with potential teams, stakeholders and investors over the past week.
According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, commissioner Adam Silver, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and the NBA’s European and Middle East director George Aivazoglou met with Real Madrid on Thursday in Paris about the possibility of the Spanish powerhouse joining the proposed league.
As Vardon writes, Real Madrid currently has a guaranteed spot in the EuroLeague, but its license expires in 2026. Sources tell Vardon that if Real Madrid decides to join the NBA’s new venture, other EuroLeague teams are considered likely to follow.
Real Madrid is the most decorated EuroLeague team in history. Dating back to when the competition was known as the FIBA European Champions Cup, the Spanish club has racked up 11 championships and made the finals a total of 21 times — both league records.
In addition to Real Madrid, Barcelona (Spain), ASVEL Basket (France) and reigning champion Fenerbahce (Turkey) are viewed as EuroLeague teams that might defect to the NBA’s new league, Vardon reports.
Silver and other top NBA executives have met with Alba Berlin as well, Vardon adds. The German club previously competed in the EuroLeague but will be in the Basketball Champions League for 2025/26.
Sources tell Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal that the NBA is “all-in” on the new European league in part because it thinks “EuroLeague franchises are not being run as high-end businesses and have untapped commercial upside” (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports).
According to Friend, the NBA is seeking between $500MM and $1B in licensing fees from prospective teams. While some sources have expressed skepticism that the NBA will be able to extract that high a fee, others are more bullish on the league’s chances.
“Look, the FC Barcelonas and the PSGs and the Manchester Citys, they can do [between $500M and $1B],” one source briefed on the NBA’s plan told Friend.
Um no. The Olympics is basically like the new NBA now. Drafting people who have never been there. It’s not respectful like it always used to be. Watered down all over the world
This sounds like Adam Silver is trying to kill the EuroLeague.
Nice league you have here, be a shame if something happened to it… *crash*
Not kill it. Silver just wants to do to the EuroLeague what they’ve done to the NBA. Price out average people and milk as much money as possible from the franchises.
What a crock. Europe should say go away you leech
Real Madrid being owned and run by Real Madrid the soccer team, isn’t successful enough. Lols. The NBA at an all time low ratings wise. Changed so many rules you’ve wrecked the game. Introduced stupid tournaments nobody cares about. New encouragement awards nobody cares about. Like Chapman says above ‘give Seattle their team back’. You’ve made the rich richer. The middle class type contracts are disappearing. Soon it’ll be max or minimum.
Telling these euro teams they can’t and aren’t running their teams correctly is quite funny. Delusional even. This guy cares about money over the game itself. A scammer and a crook.
The only way to go into Europe is to join with the Euro L. Negotiating with the top teams is way to go. A move like this is a decade away or more. Basketball is only second to football around the world. And FiBA is the governing body of international football. The NBA is just looking at the big picture. As the best talent in the sport should.
Oh thanks I meant FIFA ….
FIFA and FIBA are two completely different governing bodies. Silver trying to go above and beyond FIBA for some of that FIFA money. Teams like Real Madrid, PSG, Fernerbache, Barcelona, Olympiacos and many more. Are owned by the soccer (football) teams. These guys don’t need Silvers help for half to a billion dollars. That’s laughable. Madrid, Barcelona, PSG are as recognised around the world as any other big sporting teams. They’re their own brand and license to print money. Silvers new league would be a second tier league and that price, the smaller clubs would do more than blink. It’s outrageous. Dude should stay in his lane. How about looking into how and why hoops ratings are dying a slow death States side. Will never take over the U.K market either, they don’t and never will care about basketball. This little euro ambition is doomed. Might be best off trying to take over and building the game in say China or India. NBA India or NBA China in particular is probably more realistic. The Indians are cricket crazy. Which is largely why cricket is the 2nd most played sport in the world. The only time basketball was no.2 was the emergence and globalisation of the game, largely thanks to one Mr Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
The NBA is the biggest thing in the world of basketball. Any European team would listen to offers of being part of NBA. Their leagues are already the minor leagues for them. It only strengthens their product. And gives them and NBA a bigger future and path to a true world league one day. It’s all about the growth of the sport. And with that comes the growth of the business. Best way to control all that is having one governing body. A d the growth of Euro ball makes it the first place to expand to. You do understand owners can just buy these franchises and do it. Euro ball has nothing over the NBA.
The caucasian vampire and his ilk then went to the sawmill where others congregated and were having a great time.
The vampire offered them this, ” join me or die”.
lol.
Silver needs to go
What an embarrassment. All NBA fans should cringe at this.
At growth ……. happens all the time. Hating on something that may not happen for 20 yrs. Is brilliant