The NBA continues to move forward with one of the most ambitious expansion projects in its history. The creation of NBA Europe, a new professional competition backed by the U.S. league and FIBA, remains on schedule for its debut in October 2027 and has now entered a decisive phase. According to NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, the winning bids to join the competition will begin to be announced in the coming months, marking a key step in building the future league.
The project aims to capitalize on the enormous potential of basketball across Europe, where millions of fans actively follow the sport. Despite being the continent’s second most popular sport, the NBA believes the market is still far from reaching its true commercial value. With a structure based on permanent teams, strategic partnerships, and a global vision, the organization hopes to create a competition capable of transforming the European basketball landscape for decades to come.
The Race to Become Part of the New NBA Europe
Bids to become one of the twelve founding teams must be submitted by the end of June. The NBA plans to establish permanent franchises in cities such as Rome, Milan, London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Munich, Athens, and Istanbul, while also introducing four rotating spots available to FIBA-affiliated clubs based on sporting performance. More than a simple geographic expansion, the initiative seeks to build a sustainable platform for European basketball that combines sporting tradition, private investment, and world-class infrastructure.
Mark Tatum explained that the league is focused on identifying the right partners in each market, prioritizing operators capable of driving long-term projects. The search extends beyond organizations already involved in basketball and includes football clubs, business groups, and investors interested in developing new franchises. Part of the challenge lies in the existing infrastructure, as Tatum noted that only two or three basketball arenas in Europe currently meet world-class standards, making the construction and modernization of venues a crucial factor in the project’s success.
A Global Project with Impact Inside and Outside Europe
Beyond creating a new league, the NBA is exploring ways to gradually integrate future European teams with franchises from the United States and Canada. Among the options under consideration are preseason games between clubs from both continents and the potential participation of European teams in the Emirates NBA Cup, the midseason tournament introduced by the league in 2023. These possibilities reflect the ambition to build a competition connected to the NBA’s global ecosystem rather than an isolated structure.
The international reach of the project also extends to media and commercial opportunities. Tatum confirmed that the organization is holding discussions with major streaming platforms and potential broadcast partners interested in distributing NBA Europe games worldwide. At the same time, he highlighted the growth of the Basketball Africa League, an initiative that already generates an estimated economic impact of $250 million for the continent and could multiply that figure significantly over the next decade. For the NBA, both Europe and Africa represent strategic markets where basketball is not only becoming a major sports entertainment product but also a tool for economic development, job creation, and growth for new communities of fans.
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