Earlier this year, it was announced that the NBA and FIBA are working together to explore the possibility of establishing a new professional men's basketball league that aims to bring the sport closer to more fans on the continent.
According to the NBA's official press release from March, this marks the continuation of initial discussions with prospective investors, teams, arena developers and commercial partners that began more than a year ago.
On Tuesday night, during the finals of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup in Las Vegas, Nevada, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joined the NBA on Prime Pregame show to provide an update on potential expansion, nearly nine months after the joint exploration was announced.
"We have bankers out in Europe talking to interested parties…and the interest has been off the charts," revealed Silver. "Now, it's easy to express interest, but whether it's existing soccer clubs, the big brand soccer clubs that have basketball organizations but would like to be part of our league, or soccer organizations that don't have basketball teams, or other interested parties who love to see that the NBA is coming to Europe, so tremendous interest."
With soccer being the number one sport in Europe, those teams are usually the ones with the most financial capability to branch out and also establish basketball teams, as is the case with clubs like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in Spain, Bayern Munich in Germany, Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, and Fenerbahçe in Turkey.
Silver also went into detail in discussing the potential for European arenas to foster community building, much like some NBA markets have been able to do.
"As you guys know, there's not the same arena infrastructure in Europe, so that's something we have to look at," Silver added. "I think about, as you go across the United States, what's happened in so many markets where they've built these incredibly vibrant arenas, where they become community centers, there's all kinds of commercial and retail and residential developments around them."
A good example of this is the Golden 1 Center, conveniently located in downtown Sacramento and home to the Kings . The Golden 1 Center offers public spaces and a variety of food and beverage options. It serves as a hub for a variety of events apart from the Kings' games, creating a space where people can gather and build a community.
Other notable arenas that offer the same community-building atmosphere include the TD Garden in Boston , the United Center in Chicago , the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto , the Chase Center in San Francisco, and, most recently, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
Silver hopes to recreate this aspect in European markets, given that fans there are among the most passionate.
"There's the opportunity to do that in Europe as well, so I'm really encouraged," he continued.
While there's no chance that soccer will be dethroned as the number one sport in Europe, there's no denying that basketball is also rapidly gaining popularity.
Outside of the NBA, the Euroleague is arguably the second-most popular basketball league in the world and is home to some of the world's best basketball players who aren't in the NBA.
The NBA itself has seen an influx of European players. According to the association's official communications, a record 71 European players were on the roster when the season began, including some of the most popular and talented players, such as Nikola Jokic , Luka Doncic , Giannis Antetokounmpo , Victor Wembanyama , and others.
If NBA Europe becomes a reality, it will give more untapped talents a global platform. It will definitely help grow the sport in the region, while also providing a pathway to the NBA.
"We're gonna take this to the next level, start having more specific conversations like say 'Alright, you said you're interested, exactly what market are you interested in? How would you operate a team? Would you play in an existing venue? Will you build a new arena?' So that's where we are, but I'm really hopeful we're gonna work something out," Silver concluded.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
