NBA Owners Set to Vote on Plan to Create New European Basketball League

The North American circuit appears to be looking across the Atlantic.

Adam Silver speaks at a press conference in Paris. / Reuters via Imagn Images

Basketball has long been popular in Europe, but the NBA appears ready to weigh a proposal that would give the league a more active hand on the continent than it's ever had before.

The NBA will vote on the potential establishment of its own basketball league in Europe, according to a Tuesday afternoon report from Eben Novy-Williams and Scott Soshnick of Sportico.

Per Novy-Williams and Soshnick, the league would have a 50% stake in the league while franchise owners would have a 50% stake. The hypothetical circuit—eight to 10 teams in size—has been characterized as semi-open, with up to four slots open to existing EuroLeague teams.

As James Herbert of CBS Sports pointed out, previous reporting from Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic suggested previous talks between the NBA and EuroLeague on a partnership had broken down.

With the line between contributing to Europe's rich basketball tradition and undercutting it a thin one, this will be a fascinating storyline to watch evolve throughout the 2020s.

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