Adam Silver Says NBA–EuroLeague Talks Are Making Progress as Europe Project Nears Decision Point

The battle over the future of European club basketball may be moving closer to cooperation rather than confrontation.

Adam Silver confirmed on September 15 that the NBA is making progress in negotiations with EuroLeague as plans for NBA Europe continue to develop.

Speaking after the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, Silver stopped well short of announcing an agreement. But his comments represented one of the clearest public indications yet that the NBA would prefer to build its European project alongside EuroLeague rather than create a completely separate rival competition.

"We believe that the league would be strengthened by joining forces with the EuroLeague," Silver said. "It doesn't have to happen, but I believe we would all be better off as a unified front in Europe."

That distinction matters.

For months, one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding NBA Europe has been what happens to the continent's existing elite competition — and to the major clubs already invested in it.

Silver is now publicly acknowledging that a unified solution may be the better one.

NBA Europe Is Still Moving Forward

The NBA's European project is being developed in partnership with FIBA and has previously been outlined as a 16-team competition, with 12 permanent franchises and four places available through qualification.

The proposed target markets have included major basketball and commercial centers such as London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Rome, Munich, Berlin, Athens and Istanbul.

Earlier this year, Silver said the NBA hoped to launch the competition for the 2027–28 season. On Monday, amid outside skepticism about whether that timeline remained realistic, an NBA spokesperson reiterated that the league continues to target a rollout beginning in October 2027.

Silver's latest comments suggest the league still wants to get something into the market next year — even if the initial version is not the finished product.

He said the NBA considers it important to introduce the competition next summer and acknowledged that the first version could look different from the fully developed league once all participating teams are in place.

"We want to get started," Silver said, adding that further announcements are expected over the coming months.

Why EuroLeague Is the Crucial Piece

The NBA has enormous commercial power, but building a new European competition without EuroLeague would create an obvious problem.

Europe's most established basketball brands already have their own histories, rivalries, fan cultures and competition structures. Clubs such as Real Madrid Baloncesto, FC Barcelona Bàsquet, Fenerbahçe Beko and Olympiacos B.C. cannot simply be replicated by launching new franchises in the same cities.

A partnership could potentially avoid forcing clubs, investors and supporters to choose between competing elite structures.

Silver described the broader NBA Europe project as a "historic opportunity" to build on the traditions of EuroLeague and Europe's domestic competitions while creating a competition influenced by the NBA model.

But significant details remain unresolved.

The NBA is still working through questions involving player salary systems, revenue sharing, centralized media rights and arena infrastructure. Silver also indicated that several new European arenas are being contemplated as part of the project's long-term development.

No Deal Yet

The most important caveat is also the simplest: NBA and EuroLeague have not announced an agreement.

Silver confirmed negotiations and said they are progressing, but he did not disclose the structure of a possible partnership or confirm reports concerning an NBA investment or ownership position in EuroLeague.

Any claim that the two competitions have already agreed to merge would therefore go beyond what has been publicly established.

What has changed is the tone.

The conversation is no longer merely about whether the NBA will enter European club basketball. The NBA is openly discussing how it might enter — and whether Europe's existing premier competition could become part of that future.

Silver says additional announcements could arrive within the next several weeks.

For European basketball, those announcements could be far more consequential than the unveiling of another team or investor.

They may begin to answer whether NBA Europe and EuroLeague are destined to become rivals — or partners.