This article aims to shed light on what the NBA is, how it has impacted Europe in terms of the players that have joined the NBA, in what capacity the NBA could come to Europe and point out how well the European Basketball Association is doing.
Will the NBA Land in Europe?
There have been a lot of rumors around regarding whether or not the NBA will expand its sporting footprint into Europe. As you know, the NBA is the most highly-esteemed and honestly, revenue-making basketball league in the world. The NBA is also the biggest basketball league that is bet on. In fact, if you look at betting.us NBA which is the best NBA sportsbook where you will see sky-high figures on the players and teams that are being bet on.
Moving on, the interesting thing about the idea of the NBA expanding to Europe is that the commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, actually spoke about the possibility of this with a lot of excitement and sincerity. The idea behind this is not only to open new markets and possibilities for revenue but to broaden the enjoyment of the sport of basketball, give more opportunities to teams in Europe, bring American basketball into European areas and ultimately create a more global landscape of basketball. The goal here, according to Silver, is to expand, grow and develop the sport of basketball.
It must be said, however, that none of this information has been confirmed. It is a topic that has been talked about, in fact, Silver spoke about it at length at the NBA Paris Games 2025. He has outlined that the NBA is working in association with FIBA (The International Basketball Federation) the governing body of the sport to see whether or not there are any ways of turning this idea into a possibility but for now it’s all talk – nothing legal has been set up yet.
It will take an incredibly large amount of time, financial capital and general investment to get this plan off the planning charts and into action. However, perhaps there is some truth to it because it is clear that the NBA is moving toward a more global sphere to include Europe. Given that the NBA Paris Games started to happen annually around 2021, you can see that the expansion towards the European market is growing.
The question on everybody’s mind is whether or not the NBA is actually going to be joining Europe. It is impossible to tell the future and even though the NBA is probably big enough to actually do that move, it would completely change how America and Europe see and practice basketball.
Are the Rumours True?
It’s hard to say whether the rumors are true of the NBA making a European move, however, during talks with Silver, there does seem to be some interest from the NBA in a few teams and areas in particular.
The NBA is interested in launching with Real Madrid, as the jewel of European basketball is the Real Madrid team. As one of the most popular and well-established teams in Europe, this honestly comes as no surprise. Furthermore, the NBA is apparently also looking very much at France, in particular LDLC ASVEL, a French team.
Moving to the UK, there’s also been a push for the NBA to create some form of franchise in England, specifically with Manchester City as the NBA urges to create ties with this basketball team.
Germany is another market that the NBA is apparently trying to infiltrate, which will be quite interesting to observe.
So, you see? The NBA is moving toward Spain, France, the UK and Germany so far. These are massive countries with excellent basketball teams and a lot of backing.
Many European Players are Joining the NBA Ranks
One contributing factor to the potential of the NBA moving to Europe is the fact that more European players are already joining the NBA ranks, therefore, the cross-pollination between these two continents has already happened to a large degree – so perhaps the rumors are not so far fetch, after all?
For example, Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Nigerian but also Greek player, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks and initially played for the Greek national side, which he still does today. Additionally, Luka Dončić is a player from Slovenia who actually used to play for the Real Madrid basketball team in Europe and now plays for the famous LA Lakers, alongside one of the greats, LeBron James. Nikola Jokić is another player who comes from Europe, namely Serbia and he’s considered one, if not the best, basketball player today. He plays for the Denver Nuggets.
You see? There is already a lot of movement between the NBA and European players, although it hasn’t happened on a national or continent scale and no formal agreements have been signed to bring the NBA in, it is clear to see that there is absolutely synergy between American and European basketball players.
Well, there you have it. A tantalizing topic that will completely change the face of basketball as the world knows and loves it today.