NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed confidence Friday in striking a deal with EuroLeague to launch NBA Europe, Europe’s new basketball league.
“We’re going to work something out,” Silver told CNBC in an exclusive interview. “It’s like any other negotiation, it’s ongoing.”
Silver spoke with CNBC’s Contessa Brewer, a native of Macau, China, where the NBA is playing two preseason games between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
Earlier this week, the owners of basketball’s EuroLeague rejected a formal offer from the NBA to form a unified league that would become NBA Europe. The EuroLeague has 13 shareholder clubs, including Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Milan’s Olympiakos.
Silver dismissed this week’s rejection as difficult.
“I think it’s too extreme to say it’s a tough situation,” Silver said. “So we’ve been going back and forth with the EuroLeague. The EuroLeague is the existing pan-regional league in Europe right now. And on top of that, every country has a league. I can’t believe there’s 1,200 professional clubs in Europe. I mean, the EuroLeague is the top level competition right now. We’re moving forward with what we call NBA Europe, and we’re hoping we can work something out with NBA Europe. “I think it’s going to be the EuroLeague. ”
Silver confirmed that the league has received bids of “hundreds of millions of dollars” from existing European basketball clubs, “some of Europe’s leading soccer brands” and “some of Europe’s leading soccer brands” interested in purchasing NBA Europe’s 12 new permanent teams, which will enter markets including London, Paris, Rome, Munich, Barcelona, Athens and Madrid.
“Being on an NBA team in London, Paris and Madrid is, in some ways, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Silver said.
The NBA continues to target an October 2027 launch date for NBA Europe.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave an interview to CNBC on October 9th in Macau, China.
CNBC
From WNBA to Macau
Silver confirmed that the NBA is also working on plans to send two WNBA teams to Macau early next season. Officials said both teams will play one or two preseason games, similar to the current NBA system.
“We’re interested in getting women to come here,” Silver said. “I think we know there are a lot of WNBA teams that want to play internationally, and this is a beautiful arena. It’s a great opportunity here, so we want to make it happen.”
