Former Raptors minority owner Larry Tanenbaum is pursuing NBA Europe’s London franchise, sources told SBJ, and is a potential front-runner with a bid of roughly $1B.

Sources close to the process believe the prospective teams in London and Paris are NBA Europe’s marquee properties and that the winning bid will end up actually exceeding $1B in each market — with other European cities falling in the $500M to $1B range. For that reason, Tanenbaum’s pursuit could set or advance the league’s price ceiling.

Paris Saint-Germain is considered the leader to obtain a startup Paris franchise, while Tanenbaum joins a competitive London marketplace that reportedly includes a consortium formed by ex-Tottenham Hotspur executive chairman Daniel Levy; another from one of Britain’s preeminent sports bastions, the Lewis Family; another led by former Chelsea FC chair Todd Boehly; and still another from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Tanenbaum, who recently finished a nine-year run as Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, did not immediately respond to an email for comment. But his standalone Kilmer Sports formally sold its 25% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to Rogers Communications for $3.10B this month — creating additional liquidity and freeing him up to purchase an NBA Europe franchise. The NBA prohibits its current ownership groups from landing NBA Europe teams, considering the NBA, its teams and FIBA will own 52% of NBA Europe in Year 1. A minority NBA owner with less than a 5% stake can own a minority portion of an NBA Europe franchise, however.

The NBA still plans to launch its European venture in October 2027, with or without a partnership with EuroLeague. While Commissioner Adam Silver has said talks are ongoing, the EuroLeague board earlier this month turned down the NBA’s reported $581.41M offer to purchase the league and merge. If talks continue to drag on or collapse, sources have said Year 1 of NBA Europe could consist of a tournament or some other form of competition — before accelerating in future years.

As of now, Real Madrid appears to be the EuroLeague team most likely to exercise an escape clause of $11.6M to join NBA Europe, with ASVEL and Fenerbahçe possibly following suit. The potential permanent NBA Europe cities — outside of London, Paris and Madrid — have long been reported as Manchester; Lyon, France (home of EuroLeague’s ASVEL); Rome; Milan; Athens; Berlin; Munich; and Istanbul (home of Fenerbahçe). The plan is also to have four more clubs join through yearly qualifying.

The London bidding will likely produce the league’s most lucrative price. Outside of the Tanenbaum offer, the NBA has multiple groups to vet. Levy’s reported backers include Liberty Global and MSP Sports Capital; the billionaire Lewis Family that controls Tottenham Hotspur is aligned with former Knicks and Jazz executive Dave Checketts; Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora has put together a so-called “Tech Titans” consortium; Boehly has know-how in the London market through his time at Chelsea; and the Saudi Public Investment Fund reportedly desires to expand its sports presence.

Whoever wins the bid will, similarly to PSG, start the franchise from scratch — unlike the EuroLeague teams that would arrive with a roster and IP.