The NBA is making progress towards launching its proposed European league next fall and is in “ongoing negotiations” with the EuroLeague over a potential partnership, commissioner Adam Silver said following Tuesday’s NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York.
Silver did not provide details on the structure of the discussions or indicate whether an agreement with the EuroLeague is likely. He did, however, confirm that the two sides remain in talks and said the NBA expects to make further announcements about its European plans in the coming weeks.
“Yes, we did discuss ongoing negotiations with the EuroLeague,” Silver said when asked about reports that the NBA had offered to become a majority shareholder in a joint operation. “We are making progress there. We believe that the league would be strengthened by joining forces with the EuroLeague. It doesn’t have to happen, but I believe we would all be better off as a unified front in Europe.”
The NBA has been exploring a 16-team competition featuring 12 permanent franchises and four places available through qualification from domestic leagues and FIBA’s Basketball Champions League. Discussions have involved potential investors linked to both existing European clubs and new franchises.
The proposed competition would enter a market where the EuroLeague has been the continent’s leading club basketball competition since 2000, with several of its member clubs carrying histories stretching back more than a century.
The NBA has considered several ways of working with the EuroLeague but has also indicated that it intends to proceed with its European project regardless of whether a formal agreement is reached.
“In terms of the potential investors, I’m not sure they’re so impatient about next season,” Silver said. “I think if it were up to some of them at least, we’d wait longer to launch.”
However, Silver suggested that the timing of the EuroLeague negotiations could influence how the competition initially enters the market.
“Depending on where we stand with the EuroLeague, I do think it’s important that we introduce competition into the market next summer,” he said. “What the initial product that you’d likely see a year from now will be different than when we ultimately have brought all the teams together and are formally operating the league.”
Reports in Italy last week suggested that the NBA was considering an offer to acquire a controlling stake in the EuroLeague. The Athletic reported on Monday that no such offer had been made ahead of the Board of Governors meeting. Silver’s comments nevertheless confirmed that negotiations between the NBA and EuroLeague are continuing and could ultimately result in a partnership.
NBA expansion talks continue
Silver provided fewer details on the NBA’s separate expansion plans in the US.
The Board of Governors formally approved the exploration of potential expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle in March. Governors spent more time discussing Las Vegas at this week’s meeting, with Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont leading discussions around potential sites in the city.
Las Vegas already hosts the NHL’s Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, which also staged the NBA’s first three in-season tournament semifinals and finals. Silver said the arena, which opened in 2016, would require “some significant improvements” to accommodate an NBA team on a full-time basis.
Seattle, meanwhile, has Climate Pledge Arena, home to the NHL’s Kraken and WNBA’s Storm. Silver said the venue would be capable of hosting an NBA team with considerably less preparation.
“If we were opening in five weeks, we could be ready in Seattle,” Silver said.
The NBA expects the next stage of the bidding process for Las Vegas to take place soon, although the upcoming submissions will not represent the final bids from prospective ownership groups.
The league’s timetable for both cities remains unchanged, with Silver reiterating that the NBA aims to make decisions by the end of 2026.
“It’s our goal to have decisions by the end of the year,” he said. “And that continues to be our goal.”
For the NBA, the parallel developments in Europe and the US represent two different expansion strategies: establishing a new competition in one of the world’s most established basketball markets while assessing the potential addition of new franchises to its existing league structure.