By Rory Carroll
June 3 (Reuters) - NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league remains on schedule to launch NBA Europe in October 2027, with final bids for permanent franchises due by the end of June and awards expected as soon as autumn.
The league has seen record interest in the proposed competition and the NBA is working closely with FIBA on the project, which would mark the league's most ambitious international expansion, Silver told a press conference ahead of Game One of the NBA Finals.
"We
are very much on schedule," he said. "It is our hope and anticipation that the league will launch in the '27-28 season in Europe. We are on track."
The planned league is expected to feature 16 teams, including 12 permanent franchises and four additional spots available through a qualification process for clubs across Europe, Silver said.
The NBA's push into Europe comes amid growing international influence on the league. Silver said roughly 15% of NBA players are European, including top stars like 22-year-old Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, who will lead the San Antonio Spurs against the New York Knicks in the Finals.
EUROLEAGUE DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
The proposed NBA Europe competition would enter a market currently anchored by the EuroLeague, which encompasses most of the continent's basketball powers, including Olympiacos, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce and Barcelona.
Silver said discussions with EuroLeague were continuing and that the NBA hoped to find a way to integrate operations with the existing competition. But he made clear the NBA was prepared to proceed regardless.
"It's our hope that we can find a way to integrate these operations with the EuroLeague, but we will move forward either way," Silver said.
According to Sports Business Journal, EuroLeague clubs would need to pay between $500 million and $1 billion for permanent NBA Europe franchises, though those commitments have yet to come.
OWNERSHIP QUESTIONS
Silver also said the issue of whether current NBA players could invest in NBA Europe teams remains unresolved and would need to be discussed with the National Basketball Players Association.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic is part of an investment group trying to bring an NBA Europe team to Rome. Active NBA players are prohibited from owning NBA teams while playing in the league.
"That has not been resolved yet," Silver said. "Part of the determination will be what the basketball relationship will be between these teams and NBA Europe and the NBA. That obviously could complicate things if current NBA players were owners."
Silver said the NBA was separately continuing discussions about possible expansion in the United States, with Las Vegas and Seattle remaining the league's focus. He said the NBA Board of Governors was expected to decide by the end of the calendar year whether to expand to one or both cities, though he added expansion was not guaranteed.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
