What are the NBA's plans to take over Europe?
- Published
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is making a big push to conquer Europe, both on and off the court.
The 2025-26 season got under way this week and marks a major landmark in terms of how European players are a driving force in it, influencing the league's desire to do more in the continent.
A record 135 international players started the NBA season as part of the opening night rosters.
It included a record 71 European players, with the United Kingdom and France among countries with their highest number in starting rosters.
Five of the NBA's last seven Most Valuable Player award winners have also been from Europe, including three for Serbia's Nikola Jokic with the Denver Nuggets.
Basketball is the continent's fastest growing and second-most popular sport, with Germany currently Fiba's World Cup champions.
Despite its popularity, though, it takes home less than 1% of Europe's $45bn (£33.7bn) sports media and sponsorship markets.
The NBA is hosting three international regular season matches this season, with Berlin and London the stage in January, 2026.
With a number of the league's best players coming from European nations and viewership continuing to grow, the NBA is looking to further make an impact.
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What has already been done?
French forward Victor Wembanyama, who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs, is one of the league's most popular and talented players
The NBA has regularly held regular season matches in Europe since 2011 and yearly since 2013.
London had been the home for the NBA's annual regular season match in Europe between 2013 and 2019 and, prior to 2020, the only European host city for games.
In 2020, that was switched to Paris who held a regular season game yearly until last season, where it hosted a double-header.
For the next three seasons, the NBA announced it will host matches in two European cities that include a UK return.
Berlin will host its first ever match on 15 January between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic. Three days later, the two sides will face each other again in London.
In 2027, Manchester and Paris will host one match each and, in 2028, Paris and Berlin will get one match each.
Since 1984, 97 games that have involved NBA teams have been held in Europe, including pre-season games
There are also a number of programmes away from the game, such as Basketball Without Borders (BWB), taking place. This is a camp for the best young international basketball players to get to train with current NBA and WNBA players and coaches in front of scouts from across the league.
The NBA recently announced an investment of £10m into the growth of basketball in the UK, with basketball currently the second-most participated sport in the country.
What's next?
Al Ahly Tripoli won the most recent season of the Basketball Africa League
The NBA is proposing the formation of a European league that will effectively serve as its own in the continent.
Current plans, as confirmed by deputy commissioner Mark Tatum earlier this week, are to launch the league within the next two years.
Unlike breakaway competitions in other sports, the NBA has been devising its plans alongside Fiba, the International Basketball Association, and are subject to approval from both boards.
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a similar concept that has been run in partnership with the NBA since 2021.
While BAL is a fully-open league, NBA Europe's proposals are a combination of the franchise system used in America and the European open model found in football to create a semi-open system.
How will a proposed 'NBA Europe league' work?
Real Madrid have one of basketball's most successful sides in Europe
While plans are yet to become fully concrete, there is an idea of how the launch of an NBA Europe could look.
Initial plans are for 10-12 set franchises that would stay in the league on an annual basis.
A league of potentially 16 teams is being looked at, combining those set franchises with open spots that teams will be able to qualify for.
The nuances of how teams can qualify is still to be worked out. Options include performances from teams in the Basketball Champions League, effectively European basketball's second-tier competition at present.
Another option is teams qualifying by winning their domestic championships.
The long-term plans are that all club teams would have the opportunity to qualify for this NBA Europe league in some capacity, similarly to football's continental club competitions.
Unlike EuroLeague, who currently decides the entry format, the qualification to play in NBA Europe is set to be more open.
Conversations between the NBA and EuroLeague remain open with the hope the new plans can co-exist and help the growth in Europe.
Tatum hopes the number of set franchises in the league will have doubled from its initial launch within seven-10 years.
Talks with potential investors, stakeholders and teams are at a preliminary stage, but further talks are planned for the "near and immediate future".
Tatum added the next eight weeks will give the NBA a "good sense of where we are in terms of level of interest".
JP Morgan and The Raine Group have been appointed as advisers for the league's plans.
Which teams could be involved?
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby is one of four UK players currently on the active roster of NBA sides
Tatum said initial plans are for the franchises to consist of teams from the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany - the quintet also hold a major European prominence in football.
Turkey and Greece could also have core franchises.
The identities of those teams are set to be a mix of existing basketball clubs, new clubs and football teams who currently do and do not have basketball clubs aligned with them.
Football teams Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich all currently have basketball teams and currently in the 2025 EuroLeague.
Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Partizan Belgarde and Red Star Belgrade also have partnering basketball teams in the competition.
Currently, there are no UK-based teams in the EuroLeague and the men's national team are currently banned from competing in international competitions by Fiba due to governance issues.
Despite that, Tatum told BBC Sport: "The UK is going to play a significant role in the proposed European league. For the first time ever, [there will be] permanent franchises in the UK that will play top tier league basketball across Europe.
"I think that will continue to fuel the growth of basketball in the UK."
London, Manchester, Paris and Berlin - the four cities to host NBA games between 2026 and 2028 - have all been identified as being among the league's key cities to target and means franchises in all four are likely.
Lyon, Rome, Milan, Istanbul, Athens are also among the cities that could have franchises, as well as Madrid, Barcelona and Munich.
A move for English football clubs to become multi-sport are not uncommon either. Earlier this year, Nottingham Forest entered a team into the Netball Super League.
While Manchester City, who are owned by Abu Dhabi, have a close relationship with the NBA and sponsor the New York Knicks, BBC Sport understands no formal talks have taken place about City entering a team into the league.
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