NBA still talking about expanding its footprint in Europe, Adam Silver says
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The NBA is still exploring ways to expand its role in European basketball and those talks with FIBA and other stakeholders will continue, Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday. That means there's no deal — yet. But Silver, speaking before the start of the NBA Paris Games between San Antonio and Indiana, gave no indication that the league is softening its stance that more can be done. Meetings were had in Paris this week, and those talks will continue in the coming months.
“We are looking very closely to see if there’s an opportunity to professionalize the game to another level here, to create a larger commercial opportunity,” Silver said. “And not just because commercial opportunity suggests you can grow revenue, but because we believe that with markets, if you can create proper incentives, you can get significant additional investment. And ultimately, that’s the way to grow the game at all levels.”.
In August, during the Paris Olympics, Silver said in an interview with The Associated Press that the league had started ramping up talks with FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, on adding either an annual competition in Europe or even having an NBA-operated league.
Similar talks have been taking place for some time. But these conversations are about the vision that the NBA and FIBA evidently share about the potential of the game in Europe from both a commercial and competitive standpoint. “We have no agreements in place,” Silver said. “We’re not ready to make any additional announcements and we’ll continue to learn all we can and to see if there is a path to move forward.”.
