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Adam Silver opens door to European and African teams playing in NBA competitions

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  Published in Sports and Competition on Friday, September 26th 2025 at 16:13 GMT by HoopsHype
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Opens Door to European and African Teams in NBA Competitions

In a surprising announcement that has sparked both excitement and debate across the basketball world, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters on September 26 that the league is willing to consider opening its competitions to clubs from Europe and Africa. The statement, delivered at the NBA's annual global summit in Los Angeles, signals a strategic pivot toward a truly global NBA footprint and could reshape the competitive landscape of professional basketball for the first time in the league’s history.

A Global Vision that Builds on Existing Partnerships

Silver’s remarks were rooted in a broader strategy the NBA has been cultivating over the past decade. The league has already launched a series of high‑profile “NBA Global Games” in Europe, Asia and Africa, and it has formed a strategic partnership with the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The BAL, which debuted in 2022, operates under a joint‑ownership model with the NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and has already been a fertile ground for emerging African talent. (See the linked article on the NBA’s partnership with the BAL.)

Silver emphasized that the NBA’s relationship with the BAL was just the starting point. “We’ve shown we can bring the NBA to Africa and see it thrive,” he said. “The next step is to see whether we can bring African clubs, and European clubs, into the NBA ecosystem—whether that’s the G League, the NBA Play‑In, or the regular season.”

The G League as a Launch Pad

A key focus of Silver’s proposal is the NBA G League, the league’s official minor‑league system. The G League has already hosted international showcase events—most recently the G League Europe Summer Showcase, which brought together 12 European clubs for a month‑long tournament in Spain and Portugal. Silver said the league would be “very interested in exploring the addition of an African or European franchise to the G League next season.”

The G League’s “Global Games” program, which has seen NBA teams play exhibition matches in cities such as London, Tokyo and Johannesburg, already provides a testing ground for the feasibility of overseas competition. By expanding the G League’s international footprint, the NBA would not only create a developmental platform for international players but could also attract local fan bases, sponsorships and media rights deals that are currently dominated by domestic U.S. teams.

Potential Impact on European Basketball

The idea of European clubs participating in NBA competitions has been on the NBA’s radar for years, but it has never been seriously pursued. Silver said that the NBA is open to “conversations with European clubs about how we could integrate them into our competitions, whether that’s a special preseason series or a dedicated tournament.”

The proposal could potentially include an “NBA Europe League” or a special qualifying tournament, similar to the way the NBA used to run the “EuroLeague NBA” exhibition series before it was discontinued. Silver hinted that the league could leverage its existing relationships with European governing bodies—such as FIBA Europe and the EuroLeague—to create a hybrid competition that blends NBA style with European basketball culture.

“This is about creating opportunities,” Silver explained. “It’s about opening doors for players, for teams and for fans. European clubs could bring their own rich traditions and high‑level play to the NBA, and that would benefit everyone.”

A Look to Africa

The prospect of an African team competing in an NBA competition is arguably more novel. The BAL already has a “Next‑Gen” tournament where teams from across Africa compete for a place in the “NBA Africa Invitational,” a showcase that features NBA players and prospects. By adding a BAL team or a select African franchise to the G League or the NBA’s preseason schedule, the league would be giving African basketball a global stage and a clear developmental path to the NBA.

Silver noted that the NBA had already begun working with African national teams to establish a “Basketball Africa Academy” for youth development. “If we can bring an African team into the NBA’s competitive environment, we’ll be showing that there is a path for African players to get to the NBA,” he said.

Challenges and Criticisms

Not everyone in the basketball community is thrilled. Critics argue that introducing European or African clubs into the NBA’s competitive structure could create logistical nightmares—including travel schedules, time‑zone differences and revenue‑sharing models that may be difficult to negotiate. Some European clubs also fear that the NBA’s commercial model would threaten the financial viability of their domestic leagues.

The NBA’s own officials have acknowledged these challenges, but Silver insisted that the league’s experience in global expansion would help navigate them. He cited the league’s successful partnership with the National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia and New Zealand, which saw an NBA draft‑eligible Australian player, Josh Gordon, get noticed by NBA scouts and subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

What Comes Next

Silver said the league would form a task force to examine the feasibility of his proposal, which would include representatives from the G League, the BAL, and European clubs. The task force will evaluate factors such as travel logistics, competitive balance, broadcast rights, and fan engagement. The NBA also plans to conduct a pilot program, potentially in the upcoming 2025 G League preseason, where a European and an African club could play a small slate of games against NBA teams and G League franchises.

If the pilot proves successful, the NBA could move toward a more formal integration—either by granting a European or African team an expansion slot in the G League, or even by creating a new “Global NBA” competition that runs concurrently with the traditional NBA season.

The announcement from Adam Silver marks a bold new chapter for the NBA’s global ambitions. Whether the league will succeed in bringing European and African clubs into its fold remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the NBA’s influence will no longer be limited to the 30 U.S. teams. Instead, it may soon span continents, offering a truly global platform for basketball talent and competition.