NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirms European League launch still years away

National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver is known for his openness to change and his willingness to explore new ideas to make the league more appealing to a broader audience.

Silver and FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis announced in March of this year that the two organizations were in talks over a joint exploration of a new professional men’s basketball league in Europe.

However, at a recent event held at a refurbished Boys & Girls Club in Oklahoma City, Silver admitted to the media that they are “at least a couple of years away” from forming a new European league.

Adam Silver has made new statements regarding NBA Europe. The possible launch date has been pushed back.

“We’re so early in the process. It’s a little hard to put a specific timeline on it now. So, we’re at least a couple of years away from launching. It would be an enormous… pic.twitter.com/99sesFd2rK

— SKWEEK (@skweektv) June 7, 2025

“I will say it’s measured in years, not months. So, we are at least a couple of years away from launching. It would be an enormous undertaking. And while we want to move forward at a deliberate pace, we also want to make sure that we are consulting with all the appropriate stakeholders — meaning the existing league, its teams, European players, media companies, and marketing partners. There’s a lot of work to be done,” Silver stated.

The 63-year-old confirmed that the NBA is in talks with the EuroLeague to create a competition similar to the UEFA Champions League, one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world. In January of this year, Silver added that the NBA’s goal was to “professionalize” the game to another level in Europe and to also create a larger commercial opportunity.

“We have been discussing potentially creating a league in Europe. I view that as a form of expansion as well. Again, just as with American cities, we think there’s an opportunity to serve fans in Europe. No knock on European basketball — most of those international MVPs I just talked about are coming from Europe. There’s really high-level basketball being played there. But we think there is an opportunity to better serve fans. I view that as a form of expansion as well, and that’s something we’re thinking hard about,” Silver stated at the time.

The arrival of French teenage prodigy Victor Wembanyama into the NBA, following his draft selection by the San Antonio Spurs, has led to a surge in the league’s popularity across Europe — particularly in France. Alongside Wembanyama, the NBA features several of the best European players, including Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, among others.

As global demand for the NBA continues to grow, particularly in emerging markets like Asia, it will be interesting to see whether the league eventually expands into Europe.

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