NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is actively orchestrating a monumental shift in the landscape of European basketball, embarking on an ambitious venture to establish a new top-tier league across the continent. His recent high-stakes meeting in Paris with leaders from Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid underscores the strategic importance of this club to the future of the proposed NBA Europe league. The potential inclusion of such a prominent sports entity signals a significant stride toward launching what could become a revolutionary new era for global basketball.
Real Madrid, renowned globally as a soccer and basketball juggernaut, holds an unparalleled position in European sports. Their historical standing, coupled with the virtually unlimited funding derived from their immensely successful soccer operations, makes them a pivotal target for the NBA’s expansion efforts. This financial muscle and established brand recognition are crucial assets for a burgeoning sports business enterprise seeking to anchor itself firmly in the competitive European market.
The club’s current relationship with the EuroLeague, where it holds a coveted “A” license guaranteeing a spot in the continent’s premier championship-style series, is a critical factor in these ongoing discussions. With Real Madrid’s license set to expire in 2026, the timing of Silver’s overtures is strategic. European sources suggest that a defection by Real Madrid to Silver’s new European basketball league could trigger a cascade effect, with other significant EuroLeague clubs potentially following suit, fundamentally reshaping the existing continental hierarchy.
The meeting with Real Madrid was not an isolated event but part of an extensive series of diplomatic and strategic discussions Silver, alongside NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum and European director George Aivazoglou, is conducting across Europe. Earlier in the week, their itinerary included significant engagements in London, where they met with prominent political figures such as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who are set to host an NBA Global Games series in January between the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies.
London, a sprawling metropolis boasting nearly nine million residents and a greater metropolitan area population of approximately 15 million, represents a key strategic location for the NBA’s broader European ambitions. Silver has expressed a clear desire to establish an NBA Europe team in the city, leveraging its vast population and existing sports infrastructure to cultivate a robust new market for professional basketball, further integrating European and global basketball audiences.
Beyond governmental and club meetings, Silver and his associates have also engaged with representatives from major private equity firms including CVC, RedBird, Bridgepoint, and KKR, exploring the financial backing necessary for such a large-scale sports business endeavor. Discussions also extended to officials from the Turkish basketball and soccer club Galatasaray, and prior to the current trip, Silver held multiple discussions with Qatar Sports Investments, owners of soccer giant Paris Saint-Germain, regarding a potential new Parisian basketball team for his league.
Another pivotal entity in these unfolding talks is German basketball powerhouse Alba Berlin. While the club previously announced its departure from the EuroLeague to join FIBA’s Basketball Champions League, this move is widely interpreted as a strategic prelude to potentially joining Silver’s future European basketball league. NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum has previously affirmed Alba Berlin’s strong commitment to this vision of a revitalized, top-tier European league designed to better serve the millions of unaddressed basketball fans across the continent.
Sources on both sides of the Atlantic are closely monitoring several other existing EuroLeague franchises as potential candidates for defection to Silver’s burgeoning league. These include prominent clubs such as Barca Barcelona, ASVEL Basket of Villeurbanne (led by former NBA superstar Tony Parker), and Fenerbahçe Istanbul, each representing significant regional basketball markets whose allegiance could dramatically influence the competitive landscape of European basketball.
Silver’s proposed new European basketball league envisions a structure of approximately 16 teams, fueled by deep-pocketed investors and potentially incorporating a mix of EuroLeague defectors and new franchises in major markets like Paris and London. This innovative model would blend rights-holding franchises with slots for teams to earn their way in through strong performance in their national leagues or FIBA’s Basketball Champions League, creating a dynamic and meritocratic pathway to elite competition in global basketball.
