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 famous EuroLeague team in history, winning 11 championships and making the finals 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.
This sounds more and more like a protection racket. The NBA doesnt think your teams that are far cheaper to see, and more accessible to fans are profit driven enough. But you pay us 1B each and we will make you both expensive, and supposedly profitable. Oh and if you dont pay us were going to start a new league of competing teams to try and kill your leagues and teams that have existed for decades.
Adam Silver can eat such a giant bag of dicks…
No expansion here where there is a glut of talent, and cities they literally stole teams from still just waiting for the NBA to eventually make it right. Worst thing about OKCs title is that the douches that stole the Sonics are still involved.
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*
What a crock. Europe should say go away you leech