By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It was reported and rumored since last year, it was mentioned – without being concrete – even in official press conferences; however, as 2025 ends, the Basketball Champions League prepares itself to be part of the NBA Europe project.
That was obvious, not just from the presence of BCL CEO Patrick Comninos in the recent meeting in Athens about NBA Europe, but also about what was said specifically about the future of the competition in conjunction with NBA Europe.
FIBA is cooperating with the NBA, and that comes with certain decisions that satisfy the International Basketball Federation. Not only will the FIBA Windows be respected by the new league, and the weekends will be reserved for domestic league games, but the Basketball Champions League will act as one of the main pathways for NBA Europe.
There’s a decision to keep 25% of the NBA Europe competition always open for qualification, even if there’s an expansion. In a 16-team league, that translates to four teams, to a 20-team format, that expands to five spots, etc.
That’s why the plan is not only to have a top-tier strong competition, but also to improve in every aspect the second-tier competition, starting from creating even more revenues, so the teams that will not qualify for the NBA Europe would have not only a motivation to compete again for a qualification chance.
If the Basketball Champions League is also a valid financial source of income for the “middle-class” of European clubs, then the vision of FIBA and the NBA of creating a pyramidic structure, which will in turn have the effects of a trickle-down economy, can change everything for the clubs that currently don’t have the assets to compete in the EuroLeague and try to find a way to grow.
Considering that Comninos was part of UEFA’s management, where the continental competitions can give this kind of financial incentives to football clubs based on their sporting results, even if this still sounds difficult to execute on a basketball level, the vision and the path to get there are obvious.