By Alfredo Echenique Lugo
Aug 31, 2024, 12:20 PM EDT
Without a doubt, one of the most watched sports leagues in the world is the NBA. It is also one of the leagues that generates the most revenue in the United States, which is why the prestigious basketball competition seeks to expand this margin and reach other latitudes.
To achieve this, it is expected that by 2026 the NBA will have 32 teams. There is talk of expanding two franchises, one in each Conference, and they could be in Seattle and Las Vegas.
But recently NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the league is starting to look beyond its borders. And they are reportedly considering an expansion outside the United States, specifically to Europe.
“We want to make sure we have a sufficient understanding of this opportunity. We will take the time necessary before moving forward with any initiative,” Silver explained in an interview with AP about the approaches between the NBA and FIBA to expand to the old continent.
“We don’t want to damage the backbone of the basketball infrastructure that is in place. On the other hand, in terms of regional competitions in Europe, I think (although we are still studying it) that many of the investors lose significant amounts of money every year. And although this is not just about money, many things that make you lose money without any real sense end up not surviving,” the commissioner analysed.
He also said that although they have not made a decision in this regard, there is a great opportunity to work together with FIBA to get the NBA to “cross the pond” with an interesting expansion, although there has been no talk of formats or whether the leagues would cease to exist.
“We haven’t made any decisions. I continue to think that we have a huge opportunity. It’s not like we want to transform an entire league in a short period of time. But I think there is an appetite among our owners to invest a little bit more in basketball globally. Given the quality of basketball here in Europe, it would make sense for us to try to do something with it,” Silver emphasized.
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