By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The 2025-26 EuroLeague season promises much drama and excitement on the court, and the same can also be said about what’s happening off it.
While everyone will enjoy an amazing on-court product, which includes, for the first time, 20 teams and becomes more and more mainstream in Europe, and also in the Middle East, with the inclusion of Dubai BC, the NBA is making its own moves regarding the NBA Europe project, and avoiding a collision course seems more and more difficult.
Despite the rhetoric from both sides about the need to get everyone on board and collaborate for a variety of reasons, this scenario doesn’t get much traction.
The NBA operates in Europe under the assumption that both Real Madrid and Barcelona, which are EuroLeague shareholders, will move to the new league and be the proverbial Trojan horse.
This is not confirmed, but neither denied, with both Spanish clubs not sending any clear message about their future decisions.
The new league is now projected to start in the 2027-28 season and not in one year, as it was initially planned. However, nothing is set in stone, and surprises from both sides are expected.
Things may become clearer next week, when the EuroLeague, the NBA, and FIBA will meet again in Geneva, on the 8th of October, for their first time since their last meeting in the same place.
Meanwhile, even this season’s promotional motto of the EuroLeague, “born not built”, can be considered as a slight jab to the idea of building or even worse, “manufacturing” a new league and new clubs in the European basketball landscape.
It’s hard to imagine that after the meeting in Geneva next week, the final picture will be defined, and this can’t be considered a positive.