The NBA is targeting October 2027 as a potential launch date for the new Europe-based league that it and FIBA have been working to make happen, a league official said on Friday.
NBA Europe managing director George Aivazoglou, speaking at a conference in Milan, Italy, said the first season of the new league might be described as “a semi-opening,” indicating that not all of the slots in the planned 16-team league could be allocated at that time.
NBA officials, including commissioner Adam Silver, have been saying 2027 or 2028 were the working targets for a launch.
Photo: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The 16-team model calls for 12 permanent franchises, Aivazoglou said.
He listed current target countries as the UK (with potential host cities there being London and Manchester), France (Paris and Lyon), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Rome and Milan), Germany (Munich and Berlin), Greece (Athens) and Turkey (Istanbul). No deals with any city or club have been formally announced by the NBA at this point.
The other four teams in the league could qualify by winning either FIBA’s Basketball Champions League or through their performance in domestic leagues in Europe, Aivazoglou said.
That possible element — having teams qualify through their domestic league finishes — “is probably the most exciting part of the plan, because we all know that the domestic leagues today are not necessarily what they had been 20 or 30 years ago,” Aivazoglou said.
It is unclear when the NBA could announce anything formally about the launch date or the initial list of franchises. The NBA is sending the Orlando Magic and the Memphis Grizzlies to play in Berlin and London in mid-January, and it seems possible that some news about the new league would be announced on that trip to Europe.
Aivazoglou’s comments were among the most concrete yet regarding the NBA’s plans and timetable for the new league, although it should be noted that talks are continuing with teams, investors and other stakeholders.
“We’re well underway in our approach and engagement with the market,” Aivazoglou said. “We’re having serious discussions with respect to investors.”
Also being discussed is having teams from the NBA and Europe meet in some sort of competition, possibly similar to what soccer governing body FIFA has done with its Club World Cup, Aivazoglou said.
“One of the things that we’ll do very soon after we launch this league is probably create a new tournament,” he said.
The NBA and FIBA, basketball’s world governing body, announced plans in March to pursue a new European league — ending years of speculation about when or if such a move would happen. The process has been moving rapidly and a substantial move earlier this year came when the NBA brought on JPMorgan Chase and Raine Group to advise on finances and strategy.
Existing European clubs like Real Madrid, Fenerbahce and Barcelona have long been known to figure into the NBA’s plans for the new league, along with other top soccer brands like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
About one in every six NBA players hails from Europe, including Denver’s Nikola Jokic from Serbia and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece — a duo that has combined for five of the league’s last seven MVP awards. The Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic is from Slovenia, and San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama is from France.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
RSS