League Commissioner Adam Silver has come up with some polarizing ideas over the years. From the play-in tournament and Emirates Cup to the new 65-game minimum rule, he’s overseen some major changes to the NBA over a relatively short period of time.
Now, he’s proposing a brand-new idea that could shake the very foundations of the NBA’s structure. In a recent appearance on The Carton Show, he outlined his case for a European division that would better represent the league’s current demographics. The biggest obstacle would be the travel distances, but future technology could mitigate that.
“Right now, basketball is the number two sport in Europe,” said Silver. “But from a commercial standpoint, it generates about 1% of the revenue, second to soccre, but from a commercial standpoint, it’s minuscule. And so, the marketplace sees a big opportunity for basketball. Whether it’s Luka, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander… the number of international players we have now, about 15% of our league now is made up of European players. So there’s no doubt that there’s top-notch basketball being played in Europe, and great development of players.”
“There’s a company called ‘Boom Sonic’ that’s saying by 2030, they’re gonna have Supersonic jets,” added Silver. “Long-term, I definitely can imagine that we have a division in Europe. Obviously, this is a very global game, and from a commercial standpoint, the arena is so much a part of the operation.”
We know that the NBA has been considering expansion, but something like this far exceeds any prior precedent. A whole new division would require at least five new teams, making the whole process at least five times as hard as just adding a single expansion team. Still, if done correctly, it could enhance the experience for everyone in a league spread across the globe, in cities like Athens, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome (among other potential locations).
Over recent years, Silver has publicly sought to strengthen ties between the NBA and its European partners, no doubt due to the growing presence and influence of international players. While these athletes used to make up a small percentage of the NBA, most of the top stars today are non-American, with the list currently including legends such as Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Despite the rise of basketball talent in Europe, however, the NBA still has a very limited presence there, which explains why Adam has been trying to launch an entirely separate league in the region. It would be a way for him to tap into a new market while adapting to the game’s increasing globalization.
For now, the idea remains a pipe dream for Silver, as such a project would be almost impossible to coordinate. Still, it only goes to show how committed he is to the European scene. Just like us, he has watched the takeover of international superstars, and he wants to take advantage of that by bringing the league to their side of the world. It won’t be an easy feat by any stretch, but Adam knows how important it is for him to adapt to the times and spread the game wherever it’s hot.
