Former San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker is certain that the NBA will launch its own pro league in Europe.
Such a league has been speculated for some time now, with the NBA’s intentions going public after reports began to emerge around LeBron James’ business partner, Maverick Carter, exploring the formation of an international league independent of the NBA.
Now, it seems even more certain that a European league is progressing. According to a report by Tom Friend in Sports Business Journal, Parker characterized the league as a near certainty. Speaking in Chengdu, China at a promotional event, the former Spur said, “NBA Europe league for me is just a matter of time. They are coming, and it’s going to happen.”
Parker owns EuroLeague club ASVEL and said he is in talks to enter his franchise into the new NBA-sponsored league.
Per Friend, NBA commissioner Adam Silver traveled to London and France over the summer to engage with potential stakeholders and media entities about the new league.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Parker said of NBA Europe. “If the EuroLeague, the NBA and FIBA can find a way to work together to build a strong league, that will be amazing for European basketball.”
The league would likely have between 14 and 16 teams comprising of existing European clubs, established soccer clubs launching basketball teams, and brand new clubs built from scratch. Expansion fees would run between $500 million and $1 billion, some of which would get kicked back into the pockets of the 30 current NBA owners. Per SBJ, that setup is seen favorably compared to domestic expansion to 32 teams as the current owners wouldn’t have to split media revenues between two additional clubs.
It seems like NBA Europe is now only a matter of time.