By Stefan Acevski / info@eurohoops.net
NBA Europe project is an inevitability for European basketball in the coming years, and Mark Tatum talked regarding the future of this project.
Once again, the Deputy Commissioner of the NBA shared his view on the situation.
“We’re extremely encouraged by the final bids we received for permanent franchises in a new NBA and FIBA-backed league in Europe, which reflect the tremendous interest and momentum around this project.
This will be the biggest influx of capital European basketball has ever seen, and we have clear frontrunners in each of our 12 target cities including many existing basketball and football clubs. We will now work with the NBA and FIBA Boards to finalize the long-form agreements.”
Per sources close to yhe bidding process, since the March 31 deadline for initial bids, multiple bids have increased by over 100% since they were initially submitted in March. NBA has received many bids within and exceeding the $500 million to $1 billion range and in each of its 12 target cities, including from more than 20 existing basketball and football clubs, many of which are current EuroLeague teams.
Every one of the NBA’s shortlisted clubs and investor groups has extended a bid. Also, existing clubs and prospective investors have responded enthusiastically to the NBA’s quick path to profitability in comparison to the existing European basketball ecosystem.
In the first 10 years, the NBA is planning more than $10 billion in distributions, while permanent franchises will break even by the third year.
Competition system and EuroLeague
The NBA will engage with its Board of Governors to ratify the best partners in this new league, and FIBA will go through their process as well. Given that phased approach, any agreements on final terms and subsequent announcements about the launch of the league and participating teams will happen on a rolling basis.
The NBA and FIBA have also made significant progress on the competition structure. They are targeting 16 teams that will play a round-robin regular season as well as a Playoff format that will consist of multi-game series through the Finals, which they believe is the fairest way to determine a champion and the most rewarding format for fans, who want to see the best teams play more games.
Assuming an October 2027 launch, the upcoming 2026-27 BCL and domestic league seasons would be qualifying seasons for the NBA and FIBA’s league ahead of their planned launch in October 2027.
The NBA and FIBA met with EuroLeague leadership this month and continue to pursue a constructive, collaborative and aligned outcome across the entire European ecosystem.
The three parties will reconvene in the coming weeks, but the NBA and FIBA are also prepared to move forward with the clubs and investor groups who have submitted final bids.
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