{"id":240218,"date":"2026-01-15T23:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T23:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/240218\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T23:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T23:05:09","slug":"commissioner-adam-silver-nba-fiba-pushing-forward-with-plans-for-new-league-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/240218\/","title":{"rendered":"Commissioner Adam Silver: NBA, FIBA pushing forward with plans for new league in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spok with the media before the Memphis-Orlando game in Berlin.<\/p>\n

(AP) \u2014 NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reaffirmed Thursday that the league, in partnership with FIBA, is pressing forward on plans to bring a new league to Europe but stopped short of making any formal announcements regarding timelines or which teams may be committed to coming aboard.<\/p>\n

Silver spoke before the Memphis-Orlando game in Berlin, the first of two NBA Europe Games on this trip; the Grizzlies and Magic play again in London on Sunday. And to Silver, even discussing the notion of the long-planned new league in Germany made a lot of sense \u2014 given that nation currently holding the World Cup and EuroBasket titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the fastest-growing sport right now in this country,\u201d Silver said. \u201cThere\u2019s, in essence, a golden era, I would say, of the sport. \u2026 The 1936 Olympics here in Berlin, that\u2019s when basketball was first introduced into the Olympic movement. In fact, James Naismith came here to Berlin for those games and purportedly tossed up the ball for the opening tip of the Games. So, there is that long history here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bigger question is what the future will be for the game in Germany and across Europe. The impact of international stars \u2014 particularly European stars \u2014 on the NBA game is clear right now, with Serbia\u2019s Nikola Jokic, Greece\u2019s Giannis Antetokounmpo, France\u2019s Victor Wembanyama and Slovenia\u2019s Luka Doncic among the biggest basketball stars on the planet, all following in the footsteps of German great Dirk Nowitzki and more.<\/p>\n

Many details for the new league are yet to be formally finalized, including when it will start play \u2014 the\u00a0working target has been October 2027\u00a0\u2014 and how many teams will take part in that inaugural season. Among the models that the NBA and FIBA have explored is a 16-team league, with 12 \u201cpermanent\u201d spots and the other four available through qualifying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would just say we continue to be enormously excited about it,\u201d Silver said about the notion of an NBA Europe. \u201cWe\u2019ve been meeting with clubs that are interested in participating in our league. We\u2019ve been in discussions with other potential stakeholders, including media companies that would like to cover it, potential media partners and traditional sponsors who want to work with us on the league. We\u2019re looking at the opportunity to grow the arena infrastructure, not just here in Germany but throughout the continent. It\u2019s something that we\u2019re enormously excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current target countries for the NBA-FIBA endeavor are known to include Britain (with the potential host cities there being London and Manchester), France (Paris and Lyon), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Rome and Milan), Germany (Munich and Berlin), Greece (Athens) and Turkey (Istanbul).<\/p>\n

Growth will take time<\/p>\n

The league and some of its financial partners and advisors have talked with interested stakeholders in Europe \u2014 existing clubs, heads of state and others \u2014 for some time.<\/p>\n

There will be an entry fee, and it will be steep. And those who expect a fast return on those investments may be disappointed, Silver said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe funding would potentially come from, at least initially, the member clubs of the league,\u201d Silver said. \u201cI think similar to any startup venture, the participants would be the investors, and over time would hope to seek a return. \u2026 I think if we were to successfully launch this new league, it will take a while, I think, before it is a viable commercial enterprise. I think all the participants recognize that this is not for those who have a short-term perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also part of the plan: new arenas would be needed in certain markets, which will obviously take time and more money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are telling interested parties is that you need to have a very long-term perspective,\u201d Silver said.<\/p>\n

Stance of players<\/p>\n

Orlando has three German players on its roster who were part of the game in Berlin, including Franz Wagner \u2014 who has spoken with Silver about the idea. So, too, has Doncic, and Silver said he wanted those opinions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s critically important that we respect the traditions of European basketball. \u2026 We\u2019re trying to find the best combination of the old and new, tradition and innovation,\u201d Silver said. \u201cI think frankly, that\u2019s what the NBA brings to the table. I think it\u2019s also why it\u2019s important not only to have FIBA as our partner but existing basketball organizations who understand the culture of European basketball, understand the traditions, the history, what makes European basketball unique in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBA expansion<\/p>\n

It is a juggling act right now for Silver and the NBA, trying to get through the potential launch of a league in Europe with the\u00a0possibility of expanding its own league\u00a0past the current 30 teams. Las Vegas and Seattle are the front-runners if NBA growth occurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you can see the bags under my eyes,\u201d Silver said. \u201cBut we love hard work at the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silver has said that a decision on expanding the NBA will come by the end of 2026 and repeated that stance Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, honestly, the real heavy lift would be creating a new league in Europe,\u201d Silver said. \u201cAs I said, that\u2019s an enormous undertaking, which is why we\u2019ve been moving one step at a time and being very careful and cautious and making sure we\u2019re covering all our bases.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spok with the media before the Memphis-Orlando game in Berlin. (AP) \u2014 NBA Commissioner…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,129378,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-240218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-nba-europe","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}