NBA Europe
| Organising body | NBA and FIBA |
|---|---|
| First season | 2027 (planned) |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 16 (12 permanent + 4 qualified) |
NBA Europe is the working name[1] for a proposed professional basketball league in Europe organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The league is expected to begin play in 2027 and is planned to comprise 16 teams (12 permanent and 4 via annual qualification).[2]
Final bids for franchise slots were due 30 June 2026, with over 20 ownership groups submitting bids across 12 target cities in 7 countries. Bids in select cities exceeded $1 billion.[3]
The league's proposed launch has led to tensions with EuroLeague, the existing top-level basketball league in Europe.[4]
Format
[edit]The league is planned to comprise 16 teams, 12 permanent franchise slots and 4 through annual qualification.[3][5] The winner and runner-up of the 2026–27 Basketball Champions League season will be granted slots in the inaugural NBA Europe season.[6] The remaining places are expected to be granted to teams based on an end-of-season qualifying tournament.[6] The regular season will be played as a round-robin, with teams qualifying for a multi-round playoff series, culminating in a finals series.[3] The games will be played with FIBA's basketball rules, including 40-minute games.[7] The league is planned to have a salary cap, although the amount is currently unknown.[8] Teams that qualify for the league annually will face potential relegation, permanent franchises will not be relegated.[9]
History
[edit]The NBA began hosting exhibition games in Europe in 1984, with the New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, and Seattle SuperSonics facing European clubs in Italy, West Germany, and Switzerland.[10] In 1987, the NBA in partnership with FIBA launched the McDonald's Championship (originally the McDonald's Open), an international tournament where a representative NBA team would face European club champions.[11] NBA teams won all nine iterations of the tournament between 1987 and 1999. The first McDonald's Open was hosted in Milwaukee and was won by the Milwaukee Bucks, defeating the Soviet Union national basketball team and Italian club Tracer Milano.[11] The next eight tournaments were held in Europe, with events held in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and England.[12]
In 1993, the NBA hosted its first preseason exhibition game between two NBA teams in Europe with the Orlando Magic defeating the Atlanta Hawks in London, England.[12] Between 2006 and 2012, the NBA hosted the NBA Europe Live Tour, featuring annual preseason exhibition games between NBA and EuroLeague teams, across multiple European cities.[13] Since 2011, the NBA has hosted regular season games in Europe beginning with the New Jersey Nets defeating the Toronto Raptors twice at the O2 Arena in London.[14]
On 27 March 2025 following an NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York City and a FIBA Executive Committee meeting in Mies, Switzerland, the NBA and FIBA jointly announced an exploration into the creation of a new European league.[15] NBA owners expressed "enthusiastic support" and there was "unanimous agreement" from FIBA's board.[7] Following this announcement, the NBA brought on JPMorgan Chase and the Raine Group as financial advisors for the project.[16] In December 2025, the NBA and FIBA announced they would begin engaging prospective teams and ownership groups in January 2026.[17] It was also announced that there would be a merit-based pathway available for domestic teams to qualify for the league.[8]
Bidding opened in February 2026, with JPMorgan and Raine announcing they had staged "mostly positive meetings with more than 70 potential investors."[8] There were over 120 investors that expressed interest in placing a bid.[18] Non-binding bids were due by 31 March 2026,[18] with final bids being due 30 June 2026.[5] The NBA expressed a preferred range for bids between $500 million and $1 billion,[19] however many bids exceeded $1 billion in select markets.[3] More than 20 ownership groups submitted finalized bids[3] and franchises are expected to be announced on a rolling basis, beginning in early autumn 2026.[20]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Colman, Jonty (17 January 2026). "NBA plan to 'tap into European football culture' for new Europe league". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ Zillgitt, Jeff (15 July 2026). "Progress continues on proposed NBA Europe league". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Golliver, Ben (30 June 2026). "Some markets for NBA Europe league receive $1B bids, sources say". ESPN. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Greif, Andrew (2 April 2026). "The NBA is planning a European basketball league. Investors think it's worth billions". NBC News. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 Friend, Tom (30 June 2026). "NBA Europe closes bids, undisclosed EuroLeague teams want in". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 "New details of future NBA Europe teams emerge". basketnews.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- 1 2 Aschburner, Steve (28 March 2025). "Commissioner Adam Silver discusses potential European League, All-Star format". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Friend, Tom (22 December 2025). "NBA hopes to make NBA Europe official in March". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Friend, Tom (7 May 2026). "NBA to invest $3B in NBA Europe to cover potential early losses". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "NBA Europe is full steam ahead". Eurohoops. 16 July 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 "History of Games Played by NBA Teams in Europe". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - 1 2 "NBA's International Games Fact Sheet". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "NBA Teams To Compete In Europe For Fifth Consecutive Year As Part Of 2010 NBA Europe Live Presented By EA SPORTS". EA.com. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Reynolds, Tim (15 January 2026). "Adam Silver: NBA, FIBA pushing forward with plans for new league in Europe. But things take time". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "NBA and FIBA to move forward on exploration of new professional men's basketball league in Europe". NBA Communications. 27 March 2025. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "Andreas Zagklis on NBA Europe start: "October 2027 is a realistic target"". Eurohoops. 9 December 2025. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "NBA, FIBA to move forward in January about exploring professional league in Europe". NBA.com. 23 December 2025. Archived from the original on 16 February 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 "NBA Europe Team Bids Include Multiple $1 Billion Offers". Sportico. April 2026. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Friend, Tom (16 December 2025). "NBA Europe franchise bids could come in January". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "NBA Europe: London and Manchester bid race heats up as crunch meetings take place in New York around World Cup final". Sky Sports. 18 July 2026. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.