The NBA is exploring the option of an NBA Europe league, in collaboration with FIBA - drawing on what the NBA has done in Africa with the Basketball Africa League (BAL) according to @Sportico
For the last few decades, the NBA has attempted to brand itself as an international organization with a strong emphasis on building its brand all over the world and not only in the United States.
This has paid off handsomely as some of the biggest stars in the league right now are international players, raising awareness across the globe. But commissioner Adam Silver isn't done spreading love of basketball to every corner of Earth and some new plans could make the sport even more popular in Europe.
According to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, the NBA is considering a brand new league in Europe that stands on its own outside of the American NBA.
"...the NBA is considering a variety of more ambitious options that could exclude the EuroLeague. One of those would include a new standalone NBA Europe league, according to multiple people familiar with the NBA's thinking who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The league has been approached by stakeholders on several ways to expand the European business outside of a EuroLeague partnership. Any new property would be launched in cooperation with FIBA, which has a long relationship with the NBA and on whose central board NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum sits."
Not only does the NBA know that a lot of basketball talent is waiting for them in Europe, they also understand that a ton of money is there too.
The NBA would work closely with basketball organization FIBA to make any deal happen and they would not make any plans with EuroLeague. That could cause some divisions and headaches for the NBA and FIBA, as EuroLeague is such a massive company. That being said, they estimate that there could be as much as $3 billion in annual revenue in European basketball, so it would be worth any challenges.
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