Will German clubs soon get involved?
NBA causes whispers in the Bundesliga
October 16, 2024, 8:27 p.m
The NBA season is about to begin – and perhaps it will soon become even more attractive in Germany. Especially when German clubs get involved. What is still a wild fantasy could be a plan for the future.
Andi Obst throws threes with the legendary logo in blue and red, the arenas in Berlin and Munich shine in the world-famous NBA splendor: Shortly before the start of the basketball season in North America, there are whispers in the scene about the elite league’s involvement in Europe. The local market is considered attractive and plans are already in the drawer.
German clubs as NBA starters? What is currently still a wild fantasy floating through the scene doesn’t seem so far-fetched when you take a closer look. The American professional leagues – including the NBA, of course, the NFL football league and the NHL ice hockey league – want to grow, their structures are designed for expansion. And since NBA and Co. in the USA are gradually reaching their organic limits, the highly lucrative European market is now coming into focus.
There is still “no concrete plan for Europe,” said NBA boss Adam Silver recently, but the possibility will be “intensively examined.” According to the usually well-informed magazine “The Athletic”, the decision-makers are currently considering “a number of options”.
NBA is looking for sources of income
One of these would be a separate league in Europe, which could become a cash cow through investments from the Gulf states. According to Silver, Europe “and especially Germany,” the country of the world champions, are “tremendously important to us.” The NBA last visited Abu Dhabi at the beginning of October.
“Nobody was waiting for the NBA to get involved, but at this point there is some need to structure the markets and competitions in a certain way,” an unnamed president of a EuroLeague team told The Athletic. Silver now emphasized that the next step for the NBA is to figure out how to enter this region without being hostile to the existing infrastructure. The world basketball association FIBA, which has been competing with the EuroLeague for years, will of course be included in these plans.
“The way we all see it, it’s not just about an opportunity for basketball,” Silver said. But when it comes to the question of whether and into which markets it will expand, the NBA is still at the beginning. This process will only be addressed later this season.
It’s no secret that the NBA is looking for new sources of income. Last season, the league caused a stir outside of America with two regular season games. In November 2023, the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks dueled in Mexico, and in January 2024, the Brooklyn Nets met the Cleveland Cavaliers in Paris.
The last game between two NBA teams in Germany to date was 16 years ago: In October 2008, the NBA Europe Tour with the Washington Wizards and the New Orleans Hornets stopped off in Berlin.
