There is no denying that basketball is quickly, if not already, becoming an international sport, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is looking to build on this, particularly in Europe.
Talking to the Associated Press late last week, Silver is looking into opportunities in Europe with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on a potential new league or tournament, but admitted there are no “definite decisions” as of yet.
He said: “We certainly haven’t made any definitive decisions. I continue to believe there’s enormous opportunity here (Europe). It’s not something where we’ll transform a league structure in the short term.
“But I think that there’s an appetite among our team owners for additional investment in global basketball. Given the quality of basketball here in Europe, it would seem to make sense that we should be doing something here as well.”
A new league or tournament in Europe will serve as a landmark moment for basketball’s growth over the past three decades, which can be largely attributed to the influence of the 1992 Olympic basketball team, famously dubbed ‘The Dream Team’.
When Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and co won Olympic gold in Barcelona that year, they set the stage for how adoption of the sport would accelerate over the coming years. Fast-forward to 2024, many of the NBA’s best players come from Europe, which includes Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokoumpo and Nikola Jokić.
Now at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the event is serving as a celebration of the sport’s growth. In 1992, there were only 13 active NBA players. This year’s games see’s 81 players from the league competing against Team USA, led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
Whilst in attendance in Paris, Silver has been noticing how the NBA’s global reach has exponentially increased. The NBA estimates there to be 270 million basketball fans across Europe with a projected media market value of $20bn.
So it is easy to see why the NBA is looking at a potential league or tournament in the continent. According to Silver, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will hold ‘listening tour talks’ with FIBA executives on NBA European competitions.
“We want to make sure we have a true grasp of the opportunity,” Silver said. “We’ll take the time we need to before we decide to move forward on any initiative.”
The league has been hosting select regular season games in Europe for some time too. London has hosted nine games since 2011, whilst the NBA is looking to improve its position in France.
Regular season games were held in Paris for the first time in 2023, and again this year. Two more are scheduled for the upcoming 2024/25 season which will feature the San Antonio Spurs and their French native Victor Wembanyama, who is largely being viewed as the future face of the league in the coming years.
Silver spoke on the growth of the game in France, “When we first played a preseason game in France, there were zero players from France in the NBA. We now have 14, including the last two No. 1 picks. I think that that’s just a great example of the development we’re seeing of the game here.”
With NBA fan interest and merchandise sales growing year after year in Europe, and if talks progress between the league and FIBA, it may only be a matter of time before the NBA lands a competitive league or tournament in the continent.
