By Frank Pingue
Oct 20 (Reuters) - The NBA is close to finalizing agreements with clubs for the initial phase of its own European league and plans to announce those teams soon, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said on Tuesday while adding that the door to reaching an agreement with the Euroleague remains open.
Tatum, speaking to reporters on the opening day of the 2026-27 NBA season, said the league remains undeterred in powering ahead with NBA Europe next October even after Europe’s biggest basketball
clubs recently snubbed an offer to team up with the NBA.
"Well, we're we're not stopping and we're moving and proceeding as quickly as we can," Tatum said on a video call. "Our plan is to begin rolling out this project in October of 2027, which is a year from now. So we've got a lot of work to do, but we're we're moving quickly and we're not slowing down at all."
Tatum also said agreements with NBA Europe franchises are being finalized and that an announcement would be made in the "not-too-distant future". According to Tatum, the new league will result in the largest investment in European basketball, one that covers academies, grassroots development, league operations, marketing and arena infrastructure.
DIFFERENT VISION FOR EUROPEAN BASKETBALL
The NBA and world basketball governing body FIBA formally announced their plans in March for an NBA Europe venture, one that would be a mix of permanent franchises and others that would qualify on a yearly basis based on performance.
The Euroleague currently consists of 13 permanent shareholder clubs but plans to approve up to eight long-term franchise licenses as it expands to a 24-club competition with new franchises expected to be announced in mid-November.
"We have a different vision for European basketball than potentially the Euroleague had," Tatum told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The Euroleague seemingly wants to double down on what they've been doing. We have a different vision. We have a vision of re-imagining and realigning the European basketball ecosystem that's built on a merit-based foundation that gives every fan the right to dream."
According to Euroleague, approximately 40% of licensed clubs are considered financially sustainable. It projects that all licensed clubs will achieve financial sustainability by the end of the first phase of a 10-year business plan announced last week.
'MUCH MORE FINANCIAL STABILITY'
Tatum questioned the Euroleague's expansion strategy and suggested the NBA's model would provide a quicker pathway to profitability. According to Tatum, permanent NBA Europe franchises are projected to be profitable by Year 3.
"As I think about their plans for expansion, again, look at what they've said in terms of their teams and financial instability of the teams. And so ... when you add new teams, and teams already are not financially sustainable, is that a model that you want to follow?" Tatum said.
His comments came a day after Euroleague CEO Chus Bueno warned of the dangers of further fragmenting the continent's basketball market, going as far as to call such a scenario "a disaster".
According to Tatum, the choice is simple.
"Our model will provide clubs with a much quicker path to profitability," said Tatum. "Over the first decade we project multibillions of dollars in distributions back to clubs. That is going to give them much more financial stability. It's going to give them the ability to reinvest in the basketball ecosystem."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, additional reporting by Ruairidh Barlow in Madrid, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
