The NBA’s plans for a new European basketball league are beginning to move from concept toward reality.
According to The Athletic, the NBA is progressing toward agreements with several of Europe’s biggest soccer clubs as it works to establish a new continental basketball competition, currently targeted for an October 2027 launch. Four sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations told the outlet that recent talks have produced meaningful momentum.
Among the clubs involved in private discussions are Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AC Milan. PSG and Milan do not currently operate basketball teams, meaning participation could involve the creation of entirely new basketball organizations under their existing brands. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern already have established basketball sections competing at the highest level in Europe.
Manchester City has also been linked extensively to the project, while its ownership group has previously taken part in NBA Europe discussions. The broader strategy is clear: the NBA sees value in combining its basketball expertise with soccer clubs that already possess enormous fan bases, established commercial operations and globally recognized identities.
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum’s appearance this week at the European Football Clubs annual conference added another sign of the deepening relationship. Tatum attended an event hosted by the organization and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, placing one of the NBA’s most senior executives directly alongside many of the soccer leaders whose clubs could become central to the new competition.
The NBA and FIBA’s current framework calls for a 16-team competition. Twelve clubs would hold permanent positions, while four additional teams would qualify through sporting merit each season. The permanent teams are expected to be based in major markets including London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Istanbul, Madrid, Athens, Barcelona, Manchester and Lyon.
Interest has already been substantial. NBA deputy commissioner Tatum said in June that the league had received bids from more than 20 existing basketball and soccer clubs, with proposed franchise investments ranging from approximately $500 million to $1 billion and, in some cases, even higher.
The project could also dramatically reshape the existing European basketball landscape.
Several potential participants already compete in EuroLeague, which is simultaneously discussing its own long-term expansion plans. The NBA recently submitted a proposal to EuroLeague regarding a possible collaboration, and EuroLeague shareholders are scheduled to discuss that offer at an October 5 meeting in Italy.
That leaves one of the most important questions unresolved: whether NBA Europe will emerge as a rival to EuroLeague or whether the two organizations can eventually find a structure that allows them to work together.
For the NBA, however, the involvement of Europe’s soccer giants could provide an enormous shortcut to building local loyalty. Instead of asking fans in Paris, Madrid, Munich or Milan to immediately embrace unfamiliar basketball franchises, the league could attach its product to clubs with generations of history and millions of existing supporters.
