NBA going European

With a proposed 16-team field, the NBA, in partnership with FIBA, is targeting October of 2027 as the inaugural season of NBA Europe, the new league’s working title.   The NBA has received at least 20 finalized bids from prospective parties which opened in February of this year.

All 12 major European target markets showed interest.  London and Manchester (England), Barcelona and Madrid (Spain), Paris and Lyon (France), Milan and Rome (Italy), Berlin and Munich (Germany), Athens (Greece) and Istanbul (Turkey) beat the June deadline and will have their bids for the 12 permanent franchises in the new league processed by the NBA board of governors.

4 other teams competing in domestic European leagues are to be determined by qualification.

It was reported that several Euro League teams as well as football clubs that want to add basketball to their market submitted bids.  Of the above-named cities, only London, Manchester and Rome are not part of the Euro League.

Russia’s CSKA Moscow is one of Euro League’s shareholders but remain suspended because of the war against Ukraine. Likewise, Israeli clubs Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv had been playing on neutral overseas arenas for home games because of the Middle East conflicts.

The winning bids will be announced before the year ends.  Depending on targeted market host cities, the NBA reportedly is proposing a sliding scale of investment for permanent franchises ranging from $500 million to $1 billion.  Many exceeded the NBA’s $500m entry range with several bids breaching $1b.   The entry process to the new league is to pay the same license fee as an NBA expansion team bidder.

Buying a new London team in excess of $1B is reportedly a group led by a chief executive of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks in Silicon Valley, California.   Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, who owns Newcastle United of the English Premier League submitted their bid for a new team.   French football powerhouse Paris-St. Germain, owned by Qatar Sports Investment submitted a bid for Paris.  Red Bird Capital, who owns AC Milan, presented their bid for the city of Milan.

Considering the consortiums making bids, a team each from London and Manchester is very possible, likewise in Paris and Milan.  Four current NBA players are from the United Kingdom – OG Anunoby (NYK), Jeremy Sochan (POR), Amari Williams (BOS) and rookie Tobi Lawal (DAL).