The NBA is pursuing ownership groups for a potential basketball league in Europe

The NBA is looking to Europe for its adjacent signifier of growth.

The league announced connected Monday that it volition determination guardant with a associated exploration of a caller nonrecreational men's league successful Europe, successful concern with the International Basketball Federation, besides called FIBA. The NBA said it plans to commencement the process of engaging with prospective teams and ownership groups successful January.

Franchise values could beryllium upward of a $1 million, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance who requested anonymity to talk astir details that haven't been made nationalist yet.

At the League Cup past week successful Las Vegas, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said JPMorgan and the Raine Group person been actively gathering with funny parties successful Europe and that determination is simply a batch of "positive interest" successful moving forward.

The bankers person met with astatine slightest 70 imaginable investors, sources told CNBC. Discussions began astir a twelvemonth and a fractional ago. The extremity is to instrumentality non-binding bids adjacent period and ballot connected greenlighting the league astatine the committee of governors gathering successful March, sources said.

NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum has said antecedently that the league is contemplating imaginable ownership by sovereign wealthiness funds. The NBA is besides engaging existent European shot nine owners.

The league archetypal announced the exploration of a men's hoops league successful Europe past March.

"Our conversations with assorted stakeholders successful Europe person reinforced our content that an enormous accidental exists astir the instauration of a caller league connected the continent," Silver said successful a merchandise Monday. "Together with FIBA, we look guardant to engaging prospective clubs and ownership groups that stock our imaginativeness for the game's imaginable successful Europe."

The NBA said it volition besides supply fiscal enactment and resources to European basketball. It plans to put successful home leagues and improvement crossed FIBA's existing programs to make a pipeline of coaches, players and referees, according to the Monday release.

The NBA estimates determination are 270 cardinal imaginable hoops fans successful Europe, calling it an "untapped market." This year, connected opening night, the NBA had 71 European-born players. Some of league's biggest stars — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić — each hail from Europe.

The NBA said hoops is the fastest-growing athletics successful Europe and the fig 2 athletics lone down soccer. The league said the timing is perfect, arsenic past play was the NBA's most-watched crossed the league's societal and integer channels.

The NBA believes the existent European hoops marketplace is undervalued and lacks teams successful marquee cities, according to a root acquainted with the matter. Two-thirds of teams successful the already established EuroLeague suffer money, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The NBA would beryllium looking to bring teams to Berlin, Paris, Rome and London, according to the source. It is besides considering Spain, Turkey and Greece.

If the NBA moves guardant with the league, it could statesman bringing accumulation teams to play successful Europe successful the adjacent term. Eventually, determination could adjacent beryllium NBA teams competing against European teams successful a Cup-style oregon All-Star benignant event.

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said the announcement is large quality for European hoops and its fans.

"The task is conceived successful a mode that volition amended the sustainability of the full European hoops ecosystem, including players, clubs, leagues and nationalist federations, by generating a knock-on effect that volition powerfully payment hoops fans passim Europe," helium said successful a statement.

The NBA conscionable completed the 5th play of its African League, besides successful concern with FIBA. The league said it has grown each twelvemonth successful attendance, merchandise income and societal engagement.