NBA’s Bold Europe Expansion: Game-Changer or Risky Gamble?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is making a big push to conquer Europe, both on and off the court.

But not everyone is happy with basketball’s premier domestic competition’s plans to make waves on the continent.

The 2025-26 NBA season got under way last month and featured a record number of European players – influencing the league’s desire to do more in Europe.

A total of 71 European players are in the league, including players from the United Kingdom and France. Five of the NBA’s last seven Most Valuable Player award winners have also been from Europe.

Basketball is also the continent’s fastest growing and second-most popular sport, with Germany currently Fiba’s World Cup champions.

Despite its popularity, though, basketball takes home less than 1% of Europe’s $45bn (£33.7bn) sports media and sponsorship markets.

The NBA hopes to cash in on this growth, but the already existing EuroLeague questions the NBA’s current proposals for a European league.

The NBA has proposed the launch of a semi-open European league in the next two years.

Initial plans for ‘NBA Europe’ are for 10 to 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. One option is through performance in the Basketball Champions League, effectively European basketball’s second-tier competition at present.

There are other long-term plans from the NBA for the league, including the number of set franchises being doubled and the league being open for Europe-wide qualification.

The popularity of both basketball and the NBA is on the rise across Europe.

Basketball is the UK’s second-biggest participation sport, behind football, according to Sport England.

The NBA has announced plans to hold six games across Europe in four different European cities across the next three seasons, with London, Manchester, Berlin and Paris all to host games between 2026 and 2028.

While basketball is popular across the continent, there is an agreed consensus from both the NBA and EuroLeague, its European counterparts, that there is further room for significant growth in the sport.

Talks for a proposed ‘NBA Europe’ with potential investors, stakeholders and teams are at a preliminary stage, but further talks are planned for the “near and immediate future”.

NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said that the coming months 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, while the NBA is also currently running a similar competition in Africa – the Basketball Africa League.

Last month, Tatum told BBC Sport that the NBA wanted to collaborate with EuroLeague over plans and that any NBA Europe plans would be to help the sport’s overall growth.

However, EuroLeague chief executive Paulius Motiejunas said the NBA’s proposals would only “hurt” the sport and that an additional league is “not necessary”.

“I’m here to grow basketball in Europe, to make it better,” Motiejunas told BBC Sport. “From time to time, you have these new projects or new ideas coming. They can either grow the status quo or make it much better or they can hurt.

“I truly believe that this will only hurt the status quo rather than make it better if it continues to be in a way that it has been presented.”

As far as EuroLeague is concerned, the NBA’s early plans are similar to its current structure of a semi-open league of core franchises, as well as associated clubs, with the EuroLeague currently having promoted spots available out of the EuroCup.

Part of the NBA’s remit is to target major cities without permanently licensed franchises in major cities with permanent top-tier EuroLeague teams in the United Kingdom, Berlin and Rome.

This concept is not new for EuroLeague, which has been attempting to target similar markets for a number of years.

“We’ve built the business around basketball. We know the markets, [where] the basketball is really mature,” Motiejunas explained.

“They are coming and they are creating business and using basketball to do it. It is a completely different approach because if you take the cities that they have announced, we’ve been looking at these cities for last 10 years.

“It is not easy to unlock them because of football, because of the different mentality and because of different sports that are there. We know how hard it is.

“That’s why I say we wish they would tap into our know-how and work together.”

EuroLeague remains open to discussions with the NBA over its plans, but it is not hopeful.

Both the NBA and EuroLeague agree that the UK is ripe for opportunities.

Speaking on NBA Europe plans, Tatum said: “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.”

While the London Lions, who currently play in the EuroCup, are not a top-tier franchise, they remain a part of EuroLeague’s long-term plans, with London also planned to be the home of one of two NBA Europe teams in its current plans.

Earlier this week, the first phase of a feasibility study was completed into the construction of a potential 15,000-capacity state-of-the-art arena that would serve as the Lions’ home and has been backed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

“We still believe in this market,” said Motiejunas.

“We still all believe in unlocking the UK market because we know it’s quite popular as a sport, maybe not a sport to come and watch, but the sport to come and participate.

“We’re happy that they’re there, we’re still not giving up on this market and we think a lot of potential.”

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