NBA says progress continues on proposed Europe league, with Africa as blueprint

NEW YORK — The NBA said on Wednesday that planning for a new professional league in Europe is advancing, with Commissioner Adam Silver describing the project as a long-term priority for the league, according to NBA.com.

The league is developing the competition in partnership with FIBA and has held what FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis called "very open talks" with the governing body, NBA.com and BasketNews reported. No launch date or final list of host cities has been confirmed.

The proposed league is widely seen as the NBA's largest international expansion since it co-founded the Basketball Africa League (BAL) with FIBA in 2019. Analysts and league observers have cited the BAL — whose 2026 season ended on May 31 with Rwanda's RSSB Tigers crowned champions, per NBA.com — as a blueprint for a pan-regional model built on local ownership and federation cooperation.

Silver has previously called NBA Europe a "long-term project," Insider Sport reported in January. The NBA has said it sees "enormous opportunity" in a European competition, Reuters reported in December 2025.

No live fixture was in progress at the time of writing; both the NBA and BAL are in offseason.

**Global/Local angle:** The development matters for Africa's basketball economy because the BAL experience is shaping how the NBA structures cross-continental leagues, potentially deepening talent pipelines and investment links between the two regions.

**7-point verification PASS** — (1) primary claim linked (NBA.com, Google News URL present; BasketNews/Reuters/Insider Sport named); (2) attributed; (3) no unsigned negative claim about a named individual; (4) no ownership/corporate facts requiring recency (BAL co-founded 2019 — historical); (5) no invented entities (NBA, FIBA, BAL, RSSB Tigers, Silver, Zagklis — real); (6) internally consistent; (7) Confidence tag added (founder sign-off waived). **Confidence:** Verified (NBA Europe planning advancing — NBA.com, linked). Cited (BAL blueprint, Reuters Dec 2025, Insider Sport Jan — link absent, minor gap). **Note:** Superseded by the more complete 03xx NBA Europe draft; publisher to dedup.

**Sources** - https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibkFVX3lxTE9sYlp0U2UwVGhxaEFERkdvSkN3TkN6cGJiakZBdlUzS2dZYWpJQ2RVR0NWb0lRM2hDbUdlRklFMUZqQ3BVd3dOdVFlbmE4X01BUzZ0SEV5eHpSLU9VM1FMN2V1cUVDd3h4ODBHWEFR

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