Adam Silver eyes football-style fandom in new European league amid talks with PSG

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has confirmed that the league is taking concrete steps—alongside FIBA—to establish a new professional basketball league in Europe, a development that could dramatically alter the global hierarchy of the sport. The plan, long speculated but never officially acknowledged, represents one of the NBA’s most ambitious international ventures to date.

Silver addressed the topic during the NBA’s showcase series in Berlin, a fitting backdrop given the city’s deep basketball roots and Germany’s current dominance on the world stage. The nation holds both the FIBA World Cup and EuroBasket titles, achievements that Silver described as emblematic of a “golden era” for German basketball. While he stopped short of offering a launch date, the decision to speak openly about the project during the Berlin events underscored the league’s renewed commitment to expanding its European footprint.

The commissioner emphasized that the proposed European league wll be built with the same kind of fan intensity and cultural significance that define European football. He made clear that the NBA and FIBA are not merely hoping to create another regional competition—they intend to establish a league with the kind of intergenerational loyalty that drives some of the world’s most storied football clubs.

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“We want to design this European League for success, it means that the partners who invest in this league will understand that any revenues that exceed expenses, will need to be reinvested in the enterprise and to grow the sport,” Silver said, noting that long-term sustainability—not short-term profit—will guide the league’s structure.

He expanded on the cultural aspirations behind the project, pointing to the singular passion seen among European football supporters:

👀🇨🇵 Adam Silver is interested in PSG as a potential franchise for NBA Europe

“They play at the highest level of competition (in soccer), and they have the know-how to operate a basketball club at the highest level, if they’re interested. Yes, it’s a club we’re talking to” pic.twitter.com/IEH7T6hsRg

— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) January 17, 2026

“To even dream of creating this sort of relevance that these top European football clubs have, that’s something that we don’t necessarily experience in the US, the depth of the religious fervor of some of these clubs, the way that the traditions are passed down from generation to generation. It is something that I wish every American sports fan could experience,” he added.

As part of the planning phase, Silver has initiated conversations with top European football organizations—many of which have diversified into multi-sport operations. Among them is French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain, which already operates a successful handball program and has explored basketball expansion in the past. According to Silver, PSG is one of several clubs evaluating the opportunity.

“They are certainly one of the clubs we have had conversations with. We have enormous respect for their operating capabilities. They are obviously operating at a premier level of competition. We know that they have the know-how to operate a basketball club at the highest level, should that be of interest to them. The direct answer is yes. They are an organization we have had discussions with,” Silver continued.

The commissioner also signaled an unusually broad investment strategy for the league—broader even than what is permitted within the NBA’s existing ownership rules. Although sovereign wealth funds and private equity are restricted in the NBA, the European project will adopt a more flexible model in order to accelerate growth and infrastructure development.

“We are talking to families that currently invest in sports, some who have not had the tradition of investing. In addition to talking to sovereign wealth funds, there are more traditional investment funds that have had some experience investing in sports, and then some just more traditional private equity funds that see sports as an asset class,” he concluded.

If executed, the league could represent a transformative moment for international basketball. It would provide a unified NBA-FIBA framework for elite European clubs, potentially reshape player development pipelines, and strengthen the NBA’s influence in one of the world’s most talent-rich regions. For fans, it could mean something even more profound: a new cross-continental competition built on the passion, heritage, and identity that define European sport.

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