The NBA and FIBA have reiterated their commitment to creating a new professional men’s basketball league in Europe, while saying that a partnership with EuroLeague could help unify the European basketball ecosystem. Their joint statement, released on Thursday, said the organisations still intended to move forward with the proposed league, even though Eurohoops reported that EuroLeague Basketball’s owners had not accepted an earlier proposal.
The announcement matters because it places two competing visions for the European club game in public view. Eurohoops reported that the NBA and FIBA project, widely described as NBA Europe, is targeting the start of the 2027-28 season, while EuroLeague Basketball is reported to be considering expansion to 24 teams.
Eurohoops reported that EuroLeague owners did not accept the proposal discussed at Lake Como, so the report does not establish an agreed partnership. Rather, the NBA and FIBA have said they remain open to working with EuroLeague, while the reported plans of both sides would create different routes into top-level continental basketball if no partnership is reached.
NBA and FIBA say unity remains their preference
In their statement, the NBA and FIBA said a partnership involving themselves and EuroLeague would unlock European basketball’s potential for clubs, players and supporters. They said they wanted to build a stronger, more sustainable ecosystem alongside partners who share their vision of growth, opportunity and the core principles of the European sports model.
They also said they remained committed to establishing a new professional men’s league in Europe alongside partners who shared their aims for growth and opportunity. The statement reaffirms that the organisations remain committed to moving forward with the project.
Eurohoops reported that a EuroLeague Basketball meeting at Lake Como exposed significant divisions among club owners. According to that report, the owners chose not to accept the proposal that had been presented, judging it insufficient even as a basis for negotiations. The joint statement restated the organisations’ commitment, while Eurohoops separately reported that owners had not accepted the Lake Como proposal.
Two proposed expansion paths remain in view
Eurohoops reported that the NBA-FIBA concept is expected to begin as a 16-team league. Its report said four places would be allocated to Basketball Champions League finalists and qualifying-tournament winners, with those qualifying routes connected directly to domestic leagues around Europe.
The report provides a specific detail on the proposed access route. If it is implemented as reported, it would provide a defined pathway from domestic competition and the Basketball Champions League into the new league for four teams. With four of 16 reported places linked to the stated routes, the report describes access arrangements for four places; it gives no allocation detail in the quoted material for the remaining 12.
EuroLeague Basketball, meanwhile, is reported to be pursuing a different expansion plan. BasketNews said the competition is working on converting the long-term licences of its 13 shareholder clubs into franchises while evaluating opportunities to grow towards 24 teams. Napoli Basketball president Matt Rizzetta told Pianeta Basket, as reported by BasketNews, that his club was at an advanced stage of talks about potentially joining EuroLeague, but he stressed that nothing was official.
Rizzetta said he expected the expansion process to move forward after the 13 shareholder clubs completed the franchise-conversion step. His comments underline that EuroLeague’s expansion is also unresolved: interest from a club is not confirmation of admission, and the wider structure still depends on decisions by the shareholder clubs.
Why the talks could matter in Britain
BasketNews reported that London Lions are among projects whose futures could be influenced by the NBA-EuroLeague negotiations. That does not amount to confirmation of a place for London Lions in either a new NBA-FIBA competition or an enlarged EuroLeague.
Napoli is in advanced talks, according to its president, while BasketNews identified London Lions and Maxima Roma as projects whose futures could be influenced by the negotiations. A 16-team competition with four reported performance-based access places would offer a different model from a 24-team EuroLeague built around the conversion of shareholder clubs’ long-term licences. The difference is consequential: one proposal reportedly reserves places connected to results in domestic and Basketball Champions League competition, while the other is simultaneously considering a franchise-based expansion process.
For now, the clearest conclusion is that the NBA and FIBA have restated their ambition rather than announced a final launch agreement. Neither report confirms a place for Napoli or London Lions, while the NBA-FIBA project and EuroLeague expansion remain reported proposals rather than final competition line-ups.