The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced a one-year delay to the launch of NBA Europe, pushing the start from 2027 to 2028. Ahead of the full league debut, the NBA plans to hold a pre-qualifying competition next year to determine four temporary members who will join the 16-team league, alongside 12 permanent franchises. The league is projected to receive an investment of around $10 billion over the next decade, making it one of the largest startup ventures in professional sports.
The permanent franchises will be located in key European cities including London, Manchester, Rome, Athens, Istanbul, and Lyon, with the remaining spots filled through a qualification process rooted in Europe’s existing basketball structure. The pre-qualifying tournament will offer promotion opportunities to successful clubs from the second-tier Basketball Champions League and domestic champions’ tournaments, allowing for regular turnover among the non-permanent teams.
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum indicated that bidding for the 12 franchises has exceeded initial expectations, with franchise prices reportedly ranging between $500 million and over $1 billion, particularly for the London team. High-profile investors, including Todd Boehly, former Chelsea chair, and a consortium involving Daniel Levy, former Tottenham chairman, as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have submitted competing offers for the London franchise. Buss Sports Capital, a U.S. investment group, is said to have bid for the Manchester franchise, but City Football Group (CFG), which has close NBA ties, has not put forward a bid.
The NBA's strategy involves collaboration with existing European basketball entities rather than acting unilaterally. However, tensions remain with EuroLeague clubs, which voted in Lake Como to reject the NBA’s investment proposal, favoring their own expansion plans to increase from 20 to 24 clubs. NBA officials emphasize ongoing talks with EuroLeague and governing bodies such as FIBA to find a unified path forward that would revamp the European basketball scene and introduce a pyramid structure similar to European football.
Several of Europe’s top football clubs, particularly those with Champions League pedigrees—such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and AC Milan—have shown strong interest in joining NBA Europe. Sources suggest that Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Pérez, is particularly invested in advancing the NBA Europe project, possibly as a strategic hedge against future breakaway football league proposals. Real Madrid formally withdrew from the failed European Super League project only last year, but Pérez continues to push for a model that includes semi-closed membership arrangements, seeking to protect top clubs from relegation and domestic setbacks.
City Football Group’s involvement in the league remains complicated by legal and ethical challenges following a recent ruling against Manchester City for extensive financial misconduct. While CFG has close ties to the NBA through its ownership of the Co-op Live arena in Manchester—which will host an NBA game in January—the group has refrained from franchise bidding. Despite this, its chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, has played a pivotal role in establishing a partnership between the NBA and Abu Dhabi, which includes the development of a global basketball academy and hosting NBA preseason games.
The NBA is positioning NBA Europe as a hybrid competition reflecting both European and North American sports cultures, blending permanent franchises with an element of promotion and relegation. This structure aims to mirror the dynamic of European football’s pyramid system, addressing a current lack of clear upward mobility in European basketball. Officials envision NBA Europe as a major economic driver for host cities, facilitated by investments in world-class arenas and basketball development infrastructure.
The NBA expects to finalize franchise ownership announcements later this year as it continues to navigate complex negotiations with potential investors, European clubs, and basketball governing bodies.