NBA and FIBA press ahead with 2027 Europe plan after EuroLeague clubs reject proposal

The NBA and FIBA said on Thursday, October 8, that they would continue planning a professional men’s basketball league in Europe for 2027, after EuroLeague shareholder clubs rejected the NBA’s current collaboration proposal at a meeting in Cernobbio, Italy. The decision leaves the continent’s leading existing club competition and the proposed new league on separate paths for now, although both sides have left room for further talks.

In a joint statement reported by Channel NewsAsia, the NBA and basketball’s international governing body said they remained committed to moving forward with partners who share their vision. They also argued that a partnership with EuroLeague could strengthen European basketball. NBA Europe director George Aivazoglou told a conference in London on Thursday that preparations were continuing for a launch next year and described a planned 16-team competition.

What EuroLeague clubs rejected

Representatives of EuroLeague’s 13 permanent shareholder clubs met on Tuesday, October 6, in Cernobbio to consider the NBA proposal and decisions about their own competition. Barcelona subsequently confirmed to the Associated Press that the owners had rejected the proposal as it stood. The club said they would reconsider if the offer were amended. How individual clubs voted was not disclosed.

EuroLeague’s public account of the meeting described strategic decisions about the clubs’ collective competition but did not mention the NBA proposal. The league declined to elaborate to the Associated Press. Reuters also reported that talks could continue. The rejection therefore settles the fate of the offer considered on Tuesday, rather than establishing that negotiations have ended.

EuroLeague’s franchise plans

The shareholder clubs also agreed to convert their existing long-term EuroLeague licences into franchises, Reuters reported. That would give them a more permanent stake in the competition. The existing EuroLeague has 20 teams; according to the Associated Press, its 13 shareholder clubs hold places protected from relegation, while other teams enter through domestic qualification or invitations.

The clubs did not formally approve increasing the league from 20 to 24 teams at the meeting, Reuters reported. A person who attended told the news agency that decisions on additional long-term licences were expected within a month. Spanish sports newspaper AS reported that a 24-team competition remained on EuroLeague’s roadmap for the following season, while formal approval of eight more franchise places had been delayed. AS said the reason for the delay was unclear.

Those decisions matter to clubs weighing their place in European basketball. A franchise arrangement affects the permanence of EuroLeague membership, while expansion would determine how many teams can participate. Neither decision identifies which clubs, if any, would join a separate NBA-backed competition. The two organisations’ negotiations and EuroLeague’s own membership decisions are continuing on different timetables.

What remains open for NBA Europe

The NBA’s 2027 target predates this week’s rejection. Commissioner Adam Silver said in September that negotiations with EuroLeague were continuing but that some version of NBA Europe would begin play in 2027 regardless. He said announcements about markets and franchises were expected over the following months. Thursday’s statement and Aivazoglou’s remarks reaffirm that intention; they do not amount to an announcement of participating clubs or cities.

Aivazoglou said the proposed 16-team league would give greater weight to qualification on sporting merit than EuroLeague’s current structure, according to Channel NewsAsia. How that principle would work, which teams would receive places and what the final competition calendar would look like have not been established in the cited announcements. A target launch year is a plan, rather than confirmation that fixtures are scheduled.

There is no reported formal deadline for an agreement with EuroLeague. Reuters quoted a senior sports executive who thought collaboration was unlikely to begin before 2028 because organising a new competition for the 2027–28 season would be difficult. That assessment concerned a potential joint project; it did not change the NBA and FIBA’s stated aim to proceed with their own plan next year.

The next concrete decisions are expected to concern EuroLeague’s additional licences and the NBA’s proposed markets and franchises. Until those are announced, the central question for clubs and supporters is whether an amended partnership proposal can bring the competitions together, or whether the NBA and FIBA will pursue their planned league alongside EuroLeague. Neither outcome has been confirmed.