NBA Roundup: Commish Eyes Europe With Games, New League
In expanding its brand globally, the NBA is featuring two regular season games this month in Europe.
This comes as the NBA continues to work with FIBA in bringing a new league to Europe, possibly by 2027.
On Thursday in Berlin, the NBA was on display in a regular-season game at Uber Arena, with the Orlando Magic defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, 118-111.
The Jan. 15 game in Berlin featured three German-born players, brothers Franz and Moritz “Moe” Wagner and Tristan da Silva. In Thursday’s game, the 6-foot-10, 220-pound Franz Wagner, pictured at right, scored 18 points and collected nine rebounds in Orlando’s victory.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, the two teams are set to square off at O2 Arena in London for another regular-season game (noon ET, Amazon Prime). German-born Dirk Nowitzki, a retired Dallas Mavericks power forward regarded as one of the top players in NBA history, was on hand in Berlin providing commentary for Amazon Prime and is set to handle the same duties in London.
The NBA is scheduled to play regular season games in Paris in 2027-28 and Manchester in 2027.
NBA Attracts International Players
The January 2026 games in Europe are consistent with interest in the NBA globally.
Over the years, the NBA has seen a substantial increase in the number of international players.
According to the Associated Press, the NBA opened this season with a record 135 international players, including 71 from Europe. This is up from 1984, when the NBA, playing its first preseason game in then-West Germany, had a total of 10 international players.
NBA-FIBA Plan New European League
This week in Berlin, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the planned new NBA-FIBA league in Europe and expressed excitement about the project, according to the Associated Press. A target start date of October 2027 has been in the works.
“We’ve been meeting with clubs that are interested in participating in our league,” Silver said. “We’ve been in discussions with other potential stakeholders, including media companies that would like to cover it, potential media partners and traditional sponsors who want to work with us on the league. We’re looking at the opportunity to grow the arena infrastructure, not just here in Germany but throughout the continent. It’s something that we’re enormously excited about.”
The Associated Press reported that the NBA and FIBA have explored the possibility of a 16-team league, “with 12 permanent spots and the other four available through qualifying.”
Countries under consideration are Great Britain (potentially London and Manchester), France (Paris and Lyon), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona, Italy (Rome and Milan), Germany (Munich and Berlin), Greece (Athens) and Turkey (Istanbul).
Currently, only one NBA team, the Toronto Raptors, is located outside the U.S., though the Memphis Grizzles once made their home in Vancouver.
In addition to global expansion, Silver has expressed interest in expanding the NBA in the U.S. with teams in Seattle and Las Vegas.
Busy Football Weekend
The NBA game on Sunday in London comes during a busy period for sports fans and bettors, with NFL playoff games on Saturday and Sunday and the college football championship on Monday, Jan. 19, between Indiana and Miami (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Here are the weekend NFL matchups.
Saturday, Jan. 17
- (6) Buffalo Bills at (1) Denver Broncos, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
- (6) San Francisco 49ers at (1) Seattle Seahawks, 8 p.m. ET (Fox, FoxD)
Sunday, Jan. 18
- (5) Houston Texans at (2) New England Patriots, 3 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN)
- (5) Los Angeles Rams at (2) Chicago Bears, 6:30 p.m. ET (NBC, NBCU)
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