By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The future of European basketball is undergoing significant change as a new top-tier league, widely referred to as NBA Europe, builds momentum for a projected launch at the top of the 2027–28 season. With support from the NBA and FIBA, this venture aims to update the continent’s ecosystem with a hybrid system, starting from 12 permanent franchises in major cities and four annual merit-based qualifiers.
Spanish basketball icon and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Pau Gasol has confirmed his active involvement in the project, expressing strong confidence that the venture will soon transition from a concept into a reality. The two-time NBA champion is currently leveraging his close ties with FC Barcelona to help evaluate the club’s potential entry.
“Barca is open to the possibility of the NBA in Europe. Barca has made clear that it wants to be in the best European league, but at the same time, it also has to understand, perhaps better, the model, the project, the conditions, and see that certain things are happening. The presidential elections have perhaps put things on hold, prioritized other things, but we had to have clarity that we have it now, and as of July 1st, Joan [Laporta] will resume official control of the club. I am very close to the club to be able to manage what would be valuing the entry into the project,” he shared in an interview with Mundo Deportivo.
While top European clubs have all extended their commitments to Euroleague Basketball, 45-year-old Gasol views this as a strategic precaution rather than a barrier to the new initiative. “In the end, the clubs also have to do what they think is best,” he explained, maintaining that these contractual obligations do not necessarily exclude prominent teams from participating in the future NBA Europe framework as negotiations progress. “The insurance is to sign those agreements. Those agreements have exit clauses that are identified.”
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