The NBA and the FIBA announced that, starting in January, they will move forward with the joint exploration of a new men’s professional league in Europe, launching a process to engage clubs and ownership groups interested in joining the project. The proposed format includes permanent places alongside an annual merit-based pathway for teams from FIBA-affiliated European domestic leagues, either through the Basketball Champions League -BCL- or an end-of-season qualifying tournament. The project also foresees calendar alignment with domestic leagues and national teams, as well as a commitment to invest in the development of the European basketball ecosystem.
The announcement reinforces an undeniable reality: the NBA is the most powerful brand in global basketball. A potential partnership with FIBA in Europe could benefit both parties, but it also opens a deeper debate that goes beyond organisational structure. Is the NBA losing entertainment value in its own game? Are there more points, more three-point shots and less collective basketball? Has a one-on-one culture taken over? What do fans think in general, and European fans in particular, who are more accustomed to the EuroLeague or their domestic leagues? On this point, Luka Dončić offered a revealing insight some time ago: “I don’t really watch that many NBA games; I watch more EuroLeague than NBA. But if there’s a really good NBA game on TV, I’ll watch it,” said the Los Angeles Lakers player a couple of years ago, who remains a keen follower of Real Madrid.
The current NBA style: more threes, more points, a different game
The transformation of the NBA game is clearly reflected in the numbers. In the 2004/05 season, teams attempted 15.8 three-point shots per game; today, that figure exceeds 37 attempts per team. The trend is also evident in high-scoring games even without overtime, such as the matchup earlier this week between the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls, decided 152–150 with a total of 75 three-point attempts between both teams. It was a close and exciting result, but to what extent is conceding 150 points still considered competitive?
The case of the Boston Celtics illustrates the scale of this shift. Last season, the team from Boston attempted 3,482 three-pointers over the course of the regular season and made 1,389, figures never seen before. By contrast, a championship-winning team from the 1990s such as the Chicago Bulls of 1996/97 attempted around 1,000 three-pointers over the entire season—less than a third of Boston’s current volume.
This evolution has been analysed candidly from within the league itself. Gregg Popovich, one of the most influential coaches in modern basketball, put it bluntly: “Now, when you look at the stats after a game, the first thing you look at is threes… You don’t even look at rebounds or turnovers or how transition defence impacted the game. You don’t care.” The San Antonio Spurs coach went further: “I hate it. I’ve hated threes for 20 years. There’s no more basketball, no beauty in it. It’s really boring. But it is what it is, and you have to work with it.” Along the same lines, LeBron James addressed the current NBA style: “Our game… there are a lot of threes being shot. So it’s a much bigger conversation than just the All-Star Game.”
Europe: collective play, tactics and Arena culture
Popovich and LeBron are addressing an issue that resurfaces periodically and is now increasingly present in the NBA conversation. A playing model and basketball philosophy that differs from the European approach, traditionally closer to the styles associated with coaches like Popovich himself, or the more strategic systems once implemented by Phil Jackson with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, or Pat Riley, whose teams were defined by defensive intensity and pace across different NBA eras. Team identity and style of play – perhaps more romantic elements of the game – are aspects that European fans often value beyond the final result.
The contrast with Europe is not limited to rules, but extends to the overall experience of the game. Kevin Durant reacted on social media to a EuroLeague matchup between Olympiacos and Monaco, describing it as “the apocalypse,” a direct reference to the arena atmosphere, constant crowd pressure and emotional intensity that surround many European games.
That cultural difference was also captured by Nikola Jokić during the NBA Finals in Miami, when he was booed by the home crowd and responded calmly: “I’ve played in Serbia, so this is nothing new to me.” A remark that reflects how many European players are accustomed to hostile environments and deeply engaged fan bases. The atmosphere in many European arenas finds its closest parallel in the ‘March Madness’ or in college basketball games in the United States.
What the NBA should understand if it wants to succeed in Europe
From the sidelines, recognition of European basketball is also explicit. Kenny Atkinson, an NBA head coach, highlighted the influence of Pedro Martínez on contemporary basketball: “All NBA coaches learn from Pedro. I watch him and his teams are always innovative. He has a huge influence on global basketball.” Atkinson went further when explaining how that learning translates onto the court: “There are plays we ‘steal’ from him. I’m not going to tell you which ones because I don’t want to give anything away, but I watch EuroLeague games, Spanish league games in the offseason, I’m always learning. Yes, I’ve stolen some of his concepts, especially on offence.”
Along similar lines, Šarūnas Jasikevičius has warned that European basketball represents “one of the last forms of pure basketball left,” referring to a game where tactics, collective play and reading the game remain central. For his part, Sergio Scariolo has stressed that European basketball is a high-level product with a culture distinct from that of the United States, and that its strength lies precisely in preserving its identity and diversity of styles.
The NBA’s potential arrival in Europe presents a clear opportunity, but also a demand for mutual understanding. Beyond brand power or economic impact, the success of any new project will depend on its ability to grasp what kind of basketball European fans want to watch—and feel. The tradition, playing style and identity of European leagues and the EuroLeague are aspects the NBA would do well to take into account.
