NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he still intends to get a deal done with EuroLeague as he plans launch of NBA Europe
CNBC · C · trust 43/100
Livestream Menu Make It select USA INTL Livestream Search quotes, news & videos Livestream Watchlist SIGN IN Create free account Markets Business Investing Tech Politics & Policy Video Watchlist Investing Club PRO Livestream Menu
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed confidence on Friday that he will get a deal done with EuroLeague to launch NBA Europe, a new European basketball league.
"We're going to get something worked out," Silver said in an exclusive CNBC interview. "It's like any negotiation – it's ongoing."
Silver spoke with CNBC's Contessa Brewer from Macao, China, where the NBA is playing two preseason games between the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets.
Earlier this week, EuroLeague basketball owners rejected a formal offer from the NBA to form a merged league that would become NBA Europe. EuroLeague has 13 shareholder clubs, including Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Olympiakos, Milan.
The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media, delivered weekly to your inbox.
Silver brushed off this week's rejection as a bump in the road.
"I think it's too extreme to say it's a rough patch," Silver said. "I mean, we've been going back and forth in EuroLeague. They're the existing pan-regional league right now in Europe. On top of that, there's leagues in every country. It's hard to believe there are 1,200 professional clubs in Europe. So EuroLeague is the top-tier competition right now. We're going forward with what we're what we're calling NBA Europe, and we're hoping we'll work something out with the EuroLeague. I think we will."
Silver confirmed the league has received bids for "many hundreds of millions of dollars" from existing European basketball clubs, "some of the big soccer brands in Europe," and wealthy individuals that are interested in buying the 12 new permanent NBA Europe teams coming to markets including London, Paris, Rome, Munich, Barcelona, Athens, Madrid and others.
"It's a sort of once and forever opportunity to be the NBA team in London, Paris, Madrid," Silver said.
The NBA continues to target an October 2027 launch date for NBA Europe.
The NBA is also working on plans to send two WNBA teams to Macao as soon as next season, Silver confirmed. The two teams would play a preseason game or two, similar to how the NBA does it now, according to a person familiar with the matter.
"We are interested in having the women come here," Silver said. "I think I know there's many WNBA teams that would love to play internationally, and this is a beautiful arena. It's a great opportunity here, so we hope to make that happen."
watch now VIDEO 06:27 S4 Capital's Martin Sorrell on sports, the experience economy and the AI capex boom watch now watch now VIDEO 02:15 Macao looks to broaden tourism appeal beyond gaming, says tourism official watch now watch now VIDEO 02:38 More personalization for fans: NBA and AWS on their new multi-year partnership Read More Subscribe to CNBC PRO Subscribe to Investing Club Licensing & Reprints CNBC Councils Select Personal Finance Join the CNBC Panel Closed Captioning Digital Products News Releases Internships Corrections About CNBC Site Map Podcasts Careers Help Contact News Tips Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2026 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.
Read the original at CNBC →
Open in TruthVane →