NBA, FIBA say Europe push to continue without EuroLeague — SkimNews
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- NBA and FIBA released a joint statement committing to a new professional men's league in Europe, calling the rejected merger only one path and saying talks with like-minded partners will continue.
- EuroLeague team owners voted at a Lake Como, Italy meeting to reject the NBA's formal merger offer, sources said, believing the nearly two-year-old proposal undervalued their competition.
- EuroLeague leadership discussed expanding beyond its current 13 license holders — a saber-rattling move designed to block the NBA from certain cities and partners, according to the source.
- Multiple EuroLeague members have held extensive talks with the NBA and are seriously interested in joining NBA Europe, with Barcelona publicly saying the club would consider an amended offer.
- NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum has been running point on the European project while in Macao this week for the China Games between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, alongside commissioner Adam Silver.
- The NBA has collected expansion offers across Western Europe and plans a 16-team league to begin as early as 2027; the EuroLeague has simultaneously expanded to 20 teams in 2025-26.
Why it matters: The EuroLeague's rejection was followed by leaders floating expansion beyond their 13 license holders to block the NBA from key cities, while member Barcelona publicly left the door open to a revised offer. That split gives the NBA a path to assemble its planned 16-team European league as early as 2027 without facing a unified incumbent. Sources tell ESPN the door to renegotiate remains open — meaning both sides still see value in a deal that could reshape the continent's basketball economy.
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