EuroLeague shareholders have roundly rejected a merger proposal from the NBA to form a new overseas league, The Athletic reported on Tuesday.
The rejection by shareholding owners and other league executives at a meeting Tuesday in Cernobbio, Italy, could delay NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s plans to launch NBA Europe.
Silver and his top deputies have said the project would move forward without the EuroLeague’s cooperation, per the report, and at least six EuroLeague teams have expressed interest in joining the new venture.
EuroLeague owners did not like the terms of the proposal but are still willing to negotiate, according to the report.
“A few clubs are anti-NBA Europe, but a bulk of the clubs (just) didn’t like the proposal,” one European team executive said.
Without securing a merger, one source told The Athletic that Silver’s October 2027 launch date for NBA Europe would be “impossible.”
The NBA has been developing its European plans for more than a year, envisioning a continental championship featuring 12 permanent, license-holding franchises and four additional spots earned through merit-based qualification.
The 12 markets for the permanent NBA Europe teams have been identified as Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Istanbul, Milan, Munich, Berlin, Lyon, France, and Manchester, England.
