NBA and FIBA in talks with European soccer teams over new basketball league

By Matias Grez, CNN

(CNN) — The NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), global basketball’s governing body, are in talks with European soccer clubs about a potential new hoops league on the continent.

The two organizations announced the possible joint venture at a press conference in New York following an NBA Board of Governors meeting on Thursday.

“(The partnership) would bring the sport to more European fans and accelerate the game’s growth across the continent,” a joint statement said.

“The NBA and FIBA will continue discussions that began more than a year ago with prospective investors, teams, arena developers and commercial partners.”

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said European basketball is primed to expand its reach.

“The European basketball community is proud of its seven-decade history of international club competitions and the elite talent it develops, yet given the sport’s popularity and the success of national team competitions, there is untapped potential in European club basketball,” Zagklis said.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver echoed Zagklis’ message.

“The NBA and FIBA are uniquely positioned to build on the rich tradition of European basketball. We look forward to collaborating with FIBA to explore the creation of a new league for fans across the continent,” Silver added.

The NBA has held talks with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Manchester City regarding backing for new teams, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Qatar Sports Investment (QSI), the Qatari-government operated organization that owns PSG, confirmed to CNN that it has been “approached with regards to a basketball franchise in Paris in relation to which we have expressed an interest.”

“At this week’s NBA Board of Governors meeting, the league will report on its exploration of a new men’s basketball league in Europe, in partnership with FIBA,” an NBA spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.

CNN has reached out to Manchester City for comment.

The new league, which would rival Europe’s leading basketball competition, the EuroLeague, would involve around eight franchises being launched for an initial fee of $500 million each, Bloomberg reported, adding the NBA could still opt out of launching the potential competition.

The EuroLeague currently features several teams linked to famous soccer clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Fenerbahçe.

The NBA has already successfully launched one league abroad, the Basketball Africa League, which was founded in 2019.

For many years, the NBA has looked to expand its brand around the world, with regular season games hosted outside of the US since 1990. The league has recently hosted regular season games in London, Mexico City and Paris while taking preseason contests to the United Arab Emirates.

Basketball is a hugely popular sport across Europe, especially in Spain, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Serbia and Lithuania.

Last year, EuroLeague announced that average attendances rose 18% to 10,383, with more than three million people watching games in person.

Europeans are also increasingly leaving their footprints on the NBA, with five of the last six MVP awards going to European players: Nikola Jokić three times and Giannis Antetokounmpo twice, while Cameroonian-born French international Joel Embiid won the other.

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CNN’s Thomas Schlachter contributed to this report.