NBA plans for Europe's biggest markets – such as the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France – to have permanent franchises, with two teams in each country, before opening the league to the wider basketball ecosystem.
The NBA Europe project is gradually taking shape, especially after the key meeting held on January 19 in London, which brought together around 250 figures from basketball, football, and the investment world.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum has now explained why the league is pushing forward with the project and which markets it views as priorities.
"If you're a fan, it's hard to follow professional basketball in Europe. It's easy to follow the NBA, but it's hard to follow European basketball," Tatum told Sportico. "Top tier at EuroLeague is missing some of the biggest commercial markets in Europe. There's no top-tier team in the UK at all, and the UK is the biggest market in Europe. There's no top-tier basketball team there: in London, in Manchester.
"There's no permanent top-tier team in the top league there in Paris, in Berlin, in Rome," the executive went on to say. "So, they're missing the biggest commercial markets, which is why they are not able to commercialize basketball.
"Our idea is to create this league – call it 12 to 16 teams – with the biggest countries having permanent franchises. Call it the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, or France. Two teams in each one of those markets that we know with certainty will have franchises there, and then we'll open it up to the rest of the ecosystem."
The projected launch date for the new league is October 2027. The competition would include 12 licensed or permanent teams, with four additional spots available each season through qualification.
One of those places would go automatically to the FIBA Basketball Champions League (BCL) winner, while the remaining three would be decided through a FIBA-run qualifying tournament involving top-performing teams from domestic leagues.
According to The Athletic, those qualification tournaments are expected to take place in June 2027.
NBA Europe Just Got A Reality Check…
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