NEW YORK — The NBA is now speaking openly about its European ambitions.
During a joint press conference with FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis on Thursday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed owners have held “exploratory” talks about creating a league in Europe.
Sportico first reported the news that discussions were planned for this week.
The proposed league, created in partnership with FIBA, would likely be an open format with around 12 permanent franchises and four clubs that rotate in and out based on performance in other competitions, Silver said. It is not set in stone how many of the teams will be created from scratch and how many will be existing EuroLeague teams, such as Spain’s Real Madrid or Greece’s Panathinaikos.
“It’s early days,” Silver said. “Literally nothing has been agreed upon yet.”
Zagklis said if the NBA league does welcome existing organizations, it would not require those teams to abandon the EuroLeague; instead, it would work on a compatible schedule. The proposed division would use FIBA rules, which are also the law of the land in international basketball competitions such as the Olympics.
As global media and consumption habits evolve, the NBA wishes to capitalize on opportunities to produce games in new and unique ways, the commissioner said.
NBA owners would share in joint ownership of the league but not directly own individual franchises. A person familiar with the plans said this week that league ownership would be a 50/50 split—a setup identical to the equity structure of the WNBA until the league raised outside capital in 2022.