NBA commissioner Adam Silver has revealed that talks have taken place with Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid to join the proposed new NBA Europe basketball league in a move that could significantly alter the landscape of the sport in the region.
Reports emerged in Spain earlier this week that Real Madrid, the most successful club in the history of the EuroLeague club competition, could defect and join the project that the NBA and international governing body FIBA are collaborating on.
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With the Spanish outfit’s long-standing EuroLeague licence due to expire this year, the competition organizers sought to receive an answer this week on whether the team would renew for another 10 years.
Spanish rivals Barcelona are also in the same boat but are understood to have committed to the EuroLeague for the next decade.
With the NBA actively promoting the NBA Europe concept alongside their regular season international games in Berlin and London, it appears that Real Madrid are increasingly attracted to a project that is gathering momentum.
During a press conference ahead of the Orlando Magic’s 118-11 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin yesterday, Silver confirmed that conversations have taken place with the European basketball giants.
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By GlobalDataHe said: “I will confirm that we’ve had discussions with Real Madrid and other Spanish clubs, as well. So it would be premature at this moment to talk about more specific conversations with any clubs.”
Silver stressed that talks with Real Madrid were “more in the category of fact-finding,” but he confirmed discussions had taken place with Alba Berlin, whose Uber Arena hosted the NBA game last night. The German side, a former EuroLeague stalwart, defected to enter FIBA’s Basketball Champions League this season.
He added: “We're trying to find the best combination of the old and the new; the tradition and the innovation. Alba Berlin is the model of the type of club that we would like to see in a potential European league.”
Last month, FIBA and NBA outlined their plans for the NBA Europe project, with secretary general Andreas Zagklis revealing October 2027 as a potential launch date and announcing that the pair will move forward with the search for teams and ownership groups from this month.
The NBA and FIBA first announced plans for a new 16-team European league in March, with the new league crafted to fit around the existing European basketball calendar, ensuring sides can compete in both domestic and international competition, and that players can represent both their club and national teams freely.
Silver said the idea would be to mix established European teams with new ones, with the league initially being funded by the selected member clubs.
With qualification entry to NBA Europe now on the cards through BCL and domestic league participation, more teams may defect from the EuroLeague to FIBA competition, as the increased financial incentives that will come with the NBA brand may be too much for teams to pass up.
The clubs most affected will be the EuroLeague’s 12 permanent member clubs, all of which are shareholders in the competition, meaning their financial security is tied to the EuroLeague’s success in a way that non-permanent members are not.
According to Eurohoops, Euroleague Basketball has reportedly informed the NBA of its plans to take legal action if the US league has engaged in discussions with clubs already committed to the EuroLeague about joining the project
The organizers of the European club competition sent a letter to the NBA last week and informed all clubs currently holding an A license of its stance.
Euroleague Basketball has railed against the NBA Europe project from the outset, stating that it stands “as a threat to the long-standing traditions of European basketball” and that it may “risk fragmentation and confusion within the sport.”
Asked about the legal threat, Silver stated: “I send the legal letters to my lawyers, so I’ll let them handle that. I don’t think, by any means, it’s inevitable that there is a clash. I think there is an opportunity here to grow European basketball, and frankly, I’m much more focused on the competitive landscape, not just with other sports in Europe but with other entertainment options.
“That’s how we view the NBA. We don’t think of ourselves, even in the United States, as necessarily competing against other basketball organizations or other sports organizations. We’re competing for people’s attention. We are, in many ways, a sport entertainment product.”
With the rise in popularity of basketball and the NBA in Europe, the American league is holding six games in four different European cities across the next three seasons, with London, Manchester, Berlin, and Paris hosting games between 2026 and 2028.
The league is also hoping to use the current trip to secure sponsors for the new project.
