NBA Commissioner Adam Silver continues to float the idea of taking the league global, and that includes building something entirely new in Europe.
Silver made it clear that international growth is at the forefront of league expansion talks, speaking during Summer League in Las Vegas,
“We’d be an independent league, what we’re contemplating operating in Europe, but the fact that we would be creating new basketball teams in Europe is related [to NBA expansion],” Silver said. “It’s separate but related to this notion around building additional organizations in the league.”
That idea would put the NBA head-to-head with the EuroLeague, which has been the continent’s premier basketball competition for 25 years.
Its CEO, Paulius Motiejunas, is not shy about the challenges that could follow if the NBA moves in.
“[The NBA has] a really strong image. They can help with TV deals. They can help with sponsorship. We can grow the pie bigger if we go and work together. This is always the same message… But we have a huge fan base. We have 25 years of history. This is what we said to them. Why not sit down and see how we go and make decisions together, rather than just creating a new league and for them to start over?…
“This new league would create confusion. It would create division and on simple terms, you go to the sponsor, and you say, ‘I’m now this new, you know, NBA League.’ And then we go, ‘Well, we are EuroLeague.'”
The EuroLeague operates differently than soccer’s Champions League. Eleven “A-license” clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, CSKA Moscow, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Olympiacos, are permanent members with guaranteed spots each season.
Silver has hinted that the NBA could try to bring some of those clubs on board while also planting new franchises, with Manchester, England among the rumored markets.
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