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The National Basketball Association has hired JPMorgan Chase and Raine Group to advise on the creation of a new European men’s basketball competition, as it looks to exploit growing interest in the sport across the continent.

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan chief executive, has taken a personal interest in the project, which aims to leverage the NBA’s commercial expertise and global brand to fill what executives see as a gap in the European market, according to people briefed about the matter. 

JPMorgan is leading on financial structuring and execution, while boutique adviser Raine, which advised on the sale of Chelsea Football Club, is supporting strategic planning, the people said. Goldman Sachs had also been in the running to advise on the new competition.

Basketball is growing in popularity in Europe, driven in part by the success of European athletes in the NBA. Over the past seven seasons, Serbia’s Nikola Jokic has been voted the NBA’s most valuable player three times and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has been awarded it twice. French player Victor Wembanyama was selected first in the 2023 NBA draft.

But the sport remains commercially under-developed in Europe, accounting for less than 1 per cent of a $20bn sports media market, according to people close to NBA officials.

“There’s never been more momentum around European basketball . . . we have to capitalise on this moment,” said a person close to the project. The NBA hopes to launch the new competition within the next three years

The proposed competition — still in the exploratory phase — would involve between 14 and 16 teams, some of which would hold a permanent place in the competition, while others would be required to qualify.

The NBA is in discussions with existing basketball teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Milan’s Olimpia about joining the competition.

It is also holding talks with football clubs, including Manchester City and the Qatari owners of Paris Saint-Germain, who have shown interest in launching basketball franchises in under-developed markets, and potential private equity backers.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver held talks this week with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss the proposed league. Separately, the NBA announced plans to stage a handful of regular matches in London and Berlin next year, and in Manchester and Paris in 2027.

The new NBA-backed league, which would run concurrently with Europe’s national leagues, would pose a major threat to the existing EuroLeague competition, which has been running since 1958.

Private equity firm BC Partners had been in talks late last year to invest in EuroLeague, but those talks ran aground as the NBA’s ambitions in the region became clearer.  

A separate plan to create a new competition straddling Europe and Asia — spearheaded by Maverick Carter, business partner of basketball superstar LeBron James — has also been gaining support from backers.