The NBA has long been engaged in conversations with FIBA about extending its imprint in Europe.
Now, with a lucrative new broadcast rights deal worth a reported $76 billion in hand, those chats are getting more frequent.
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According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, league commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged that the NBA is pondering the creation of a fresh European basketball league or a yearly tournament there. Reynolds adds that Silver has taken note of the NBA‘s presence at this year’s Paris-set Olympics, observing fans in contemporary and classic player merch.
“We certainly haven’t made any definitive decisions,” Silver cautioned of a potential agreement with FIBA. “I continue to believe there’s enormous opportunity here. It’s not something where we’ll transform a league structure in the short term. But I think that there’s an appetite among our team owners for additional investment in global basketball. We have a huge initiative in China. We have a huge initiative in Africa. Given the quality of the basketball here in Europe, it would seem to make sense that we should be doing something here as well.”
Silver, 62, had been the league’s deputy commissioner behind David Stern from 2006-2014, after which he was finally promoted to the commissioner role. In his decade of power, he has been instrumental in overseeing the growth of the game abroad.
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There’s no doubt that the global game is expanding. Roughly 60 players rostered on teams in 2024-25 hail from Europe, and roughly another 60 are from other international locales. Both of the two most recent No. 1 picks are French, in All-Defensive First Team San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher.
“When we first played a preseason game in France, there were zero players from France in the NBA. We now have 14, including the last two No. 1 picks,” Silver added. “So, I think that that’s just a great example of the development we’re seeing of the game here.”
Silver allowed that he did not want to make any kind of move that could adversely impact the current global presence of the league, or dilute its influence elsewhere. The second-best professional hoops league in the world, from a competition standpoint, is probably the EuroLeague, so clearly the game is in a good place on the continent already.
“We certainly don’t want to do damage to the strong bones of the basketball infrastructure that are in place,” Silver acknowledged. “On the other hand, in terms of regional and pan-regional competition here in Europe, it would be my sense — and again, I’m still studying — that lots of investors are losing significant amounts of money every year. And while this isn’t just about money, most things that continue to lose money without a trajectory towards profitability ultimately do not survive. And so, whatever we do here, I think it’s important that it’s additive to the European basketball structure.”