By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
There were no big announcements or even a concrete plan to present, but Adam Silver’s message from Paris was clear: The NBA is coming to Europe, one way or another.
In his press conference for the French media, Silver was quite clear on the NBA’s intentions: “What we are discussing is a competition, rather a league independent of the NBA. It would be a European league. In what form? We will see. We are talking with various parties to understand what opportunity there could be.“
As Silver explained, “We can contribute to the growth of the game, which is not without interest. The same as in Africa with an independent league, in partnership with existing leagues, or FIBA? We are moving slowly because we want to be sure that what we do will be accepted by the existing basketball ecosystem. We want to have direct conversations with the stakeholders this week. Whatever we do, we want to respect the traditions of European sport.”
This project will not be an NBA expansion as Silver said: “We could have franchises but that’s not the priority. That’s not what we’re discussing at the moment. We would need supersonic planes”.
“A week in Europe in several cities”
Silver also clarified that Paris has not locked an NBA game for 2026, since there’s interest from other European cities to host NBA games.
“It’s not clear at this time if we will return to Paris”, said Silver and explained his position: “We will definitely return to Europe. It’s hard to schedule regular season games outside the United States and there are many candidates to host them. We are determining that right now”.
So the NBA may end up visiting several European countries, according to the commissioner: “Interest in basketball is growing in Europe and we aim to be international. A week in Europe, in several cities? We can think about it. I like the idea of taking a break in the United States and playing elsewhere in the world”.
Silver also praised Victor Wembanyama, a generational talent and the face of Paris games: “What impresses me? His professionalism. It motivates you to be great. I love watching him play because of the finesse he brings. I don’t know if his coaches want him to shoot three-pointers as much as that (laughs). His defense. Victor is curious, he wants to know everything about the world, has African roots, is in Texas, and is learning this culture. He’s a unique person because of his size. He excels in basketball but is connected by his various interests. I love working with him, talking to him, he makes our job easier”.
“Everything is on the table”
One day later, on an extended press conference for all media, Silver repeated that everything is on the table, including inviting EuroLeague teams to join: “Everything is on the table. So the potential to include existing clubs? There should be interest. The opportunity to create sustainable competition? Yes. Would we want to have a broad base of countries represented? Absolutely. I mean, that’s the benefit we have now by coming in and looking at this from a blank canvas. Incidentally, I recognize there’s enormous history and tradition here in European basketball, and we want to respect those traditions”.
Speaking also directly about the EuroLeague and the IMG deal, he added: “I won’t speak specifically on the IMG relationship with the EuroLeague. I know the IMG folks very well, and they’re an excellent marketing company. We’ve been partners in the past with the EuroLeague, and we are close with many of their clubs. We are appreciative of the effort that’s going into growing basketball throughout Europe”.
However, according to Silver, the mood in Europe is positive for the NBA’s direct involvement and that was evident in meetings with potential partners and stakeholders: “The tenor of the meetings have been very positive. It’s not anti-anybody or anti-any other organization. When we look at that opportunity and these potential partners, what they’re telling us is they believe that from a commercial standpoint, in terms of the networks they represent or are part of, or those consumer companies that they represent, that they think there’s a desire to connect with consumers, particularly young consumers, which is generally the fan base of the NBA, that they think that the market is ready to do more in this sport.”
Also Silver confirmed that all those meetings are done under the blessing of FIBA: “Anything we would do would include a partnership with FIBA, although there are no agreements in
place right now. We’re still in the exploratory stage. But I would say anything we’ve done globally has been with FIBA as our partner, for example, the league that we are operating in Africa right now”.