The NBA’s European Charm Offensive

Basketball belongs to the world.

More than three decades have passed since the U.S. Olympic “Dream Team” in 1992 turbocharged the sport’s global growth, and basketball now has the second highest participation in the world. Each of the past seven NBA MVP winners was born outside the United States, international tournaments are more competitive than ever, and there is increasing demand for access to the league and its stars.

Basketball has also experienced phenomenal growth in England, where it is now the second-most popular team sport to play behind only soccer, overtaking both rugby and cricket. In fact, according to Basketball England, the rate of adults playing the sport grew 50% just to 344,000 just from 2021 to 2024 and 1.2 million children aged 5-16 played the sport weekly.

That means that the NBA’s recent visits to Europe are now less about showcasing individual games as it is laying the groundwork for something more permanent. A proposed NBA Europe League, which would exist in partnership with FIBA, is tentatively slated to begin in the fall of 2027. It is no coincidence that the two contests the league held earlier this month between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic took place in Germany and the UK — two of the top international tourism markets to the U.S. Nor is it a surprise that the league is going to hold a game in Manchester, England, for the first time next year, another city rumored to be under consideration for a franchise in the proposed NBA Europe.

These contests are part of wider efforts to entice new generations of followers and strengthen the NBA brand internationally, at a time when the average value of NBA franchises has increased twentyfold just in the last 20 years, according to Forbes.

The NBA’s charm offensive in Europe, in other words, has officially begun.

Here are five takeaways on what the future could hold for an NBA-branded league in Europe and the factors that could influence its success.

How U.S. Cities Could Benefit

During the league’s weeklong stay in Europe, players and coaches from both participating teams spoke out about the prospective concept.

“I hope everybody is aligned in that,” said Memphis head coach Tuomas Iisalo, a native of Finland, during the trip to Germany. “I do see opportunities with the NBA Europe project. “One of them on the business side; business-wise, European basketball has not been very profitable, even though it’s very high level.”

After the London game, Orlando forward Franz Wagner, a native of Germany, suggested investing in teams and youth development would “only be a positive for the UK and Europe as a whole,” while his teammate Paolo Banchero, who was born and raised in the U.S. but has Italian citizenship, said the proposed league would “encourage more kids to start playing and show them that their dream of making it to the NBA may not be as far-fetched as it may seem.”

The hope is that the NBA Games in London and Berlin will not just be a catalyst for enhanced development pathways for young players but an investment into new and existing facilities. London Mayor Sadiq Khan created a dedicated taskforce to invest £1.5 million ($2.04M USD) in basketball facilities in the capital, on top of a £2 million ($2.7M) investment in leisure centers and community courts. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced a joint £10 million ($13.5M) investment in grassroots basketball in September – the first dedicated funding for the sport from the government.

Combined with Manchester’s first NBA regular-season game in 2027, The Sports Consultancy estimates the two UK events will generate more than £100 million ($135M) in economic impact.

For destination cities like Memphis and Orlando, the games also represented an opportunity to build direct engagement through the lens of sport while creating value that extends beyond the final buzzer. Besides the spectacle, destination marketing organizations and sports commissions can discover lucrative business opportunities by showcasing their reputations as premier destinations for sports tourism.

“The visibility is staggering,” said Jason Siegel, president and CEO of Greater Orlando Sports Commission. “When the Magic take the court in Europe, hundreds of millions of people engage with that content across social media — that’s a direct spotlight on our city. We’re able to leverage that visibility to have meaningful conversations with event organizers and partners who are evaluating destinations. These games serve as proof points that Orlando doesn’t just host events, we deliver experiences that resonate on a global scale.”

Furthermore, travel packages that facilitate seamless travel between NBA games in different countries put the spotlight on destinations and encourage fans to book repeat trips. NBA Experiences is the official source for VIP packages, but MVP Travel, Sports Travel Tours and Spectate Travel also offer options for courtside tickets, luxury stays and flights to curate a more personalized experience for traveling supporters.

Pain Points

Despite the perceived benefits, NBA Europe organizers still have major hurdles to negotiate.

Fans voiced concerns about ticket prices for the NBA Games in Europe, with the Magic’s UK fan account on X saying that prices that ranged between £100 and £1000 ($135 and $1,350 U.S.) were “disgusting” and “ripping real fans off!”

Many U.S. fans may not flinch at such prices for a game in America, but their European counterparts are less accustomed to those costs in their national sports.

It therefore raises questions about accessibility if dedicated fans are feeling disenfranchised, and about how the NBA is expanding its footprint in Europe while trying to build a more diverse fanbase.

And what would happen to teams like London Lions – the reigning champions of Britain’s SLB Championship  – or EuroLeague clubs like Panathinaikos in Greece? Would they be invited to compete in NBA Europe, forced to leave their leagues, or would they be usurped by clubs with richer benefactors? Headline names like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona have all been linked with involvement in the new competition.

And that is before the question of venues is raised, much less answered. Matches might have to be played at smaller venues while new arenas or larger ones are built to hold at least an 16,000 capacity in line with even the smallest active NBA arena.

Finally, doubts persist over the funding model for NBA Europe. It is understood that the NBA is open to majority investment from sovereign wealth funds for its potential European franchises, nonetheless they can only invest up to 20% in an NBA franchise at the moment. And if investors are required to pay up to a reported $1.17 billion, some European clubs could be priced out altogether.

Next Steps for NBA Europe

This month’s regular-season games in Berlin and London kicked off a three-year slate of NBA games in Europe. This season alone, international showcases in the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, China, Mexico, Germany and the UK have been integrated into the NBA calendar, and more are planned in France, the UK and Germany by 2028.

In December, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said that an October 2027 launch for a new European club basketball league operated by FIBA and the NBA was a “realistic target.” However, any new professional league would still require the approval of the respective boards of the NBA and the FIBA Central Board

The new venture could involve new and existing franchises in major cities across Europe, although Zagklis said it would have to provide a clear pathway to hundreds of clubs in the continent and provide access for teams to participate.

How The Proposed FIBA / NBA Model Could Work

A main stumbling block going forward is creating unity in a fragmented European professional club basketball landscape.

There are currently five professional basketball competitions that are branded as Europe-wide — two managed by EuroLeague Basketball (EuroLeague and Eurocup), two by FIBA Europe (The Basketball Champions League and The Euro Cup), and one run by FIBA (the European North Basketball League). Clubs can also qualify for these competitions according to how well they performed in the previous season in either their national or regional leagues.
EuroLeague, which operates Europe’s primary club basketball competition, has threatened the NBA with legal action if it approaches EuroLeague clubs about breaking their existing agreements to switch to NBA Europe.

At the center of the debate, FIBA would need to ensure that EuroLeague teams that do not transfer to the new format would still be able to secure revenue and compete at the highest possible level, while also ensuring that more European teams have access to the new league than those 20 teams that currently qualify for the EuroLeague.

Tapping Into Europe

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he wants to “tap into” Europe’s soccer culture for the proposed European basketball league.
Top European soccer clubs attended an invite-only presentation about NBA Europe on Jan. 17 with potential stakeholders, investors and sponsors. Silver later said he believes the NBA and the sport can leverage the “religious fervor” of soccer fans across the continent and create a “large opportunity and entertainment ecosystem,” although he warned that that culture could not be “easily transferred.”

Looking ahead to a potential 2027–2028 launch season, Silver admitted that it was an “ambitious” but “doable” target, and the metrics of the success would be based around the growth of the sport in Europe, instead of commercial factors. NBA Europe is reportedly looking to include 16 teams across Europe (12 of which would be permanent franchises) and more announcements are expected in the coming months.

The future undoubtedly looks exciting for basketball but there is still work to do to address significant logistical issues around scheduling, ticket prices, format and travel arrangements. If the NBA Europe concept is to be successful, these are the hoops that the NBA must jump through.