If there is one true thing to be said about Adam Silver’s term as the NBA commissioner, is the fact that he is well organized and puts his actions where his mouth is. Just this year, he promised to deal with two very important enigmas during the summer: negotiating the new medial rights and then dedicating himself to explore potential expansions.
Not only is the league considering the arrival of two more franchises that would help the NBA grow from 30 to 32 teams (being Las Vegas and Seattle the two most popular options), but also their growing interest of expanding to Europe, mostly in terms of business.
Just a few days ago, the commissioner acknowledged that during the past Olympic Games in Paris he was engaging in many conversations with European executives, as well as FIBA representatives to build bridges with the NBA. “We want to make sure that we have enough understanding of this opportunity. We don’t want to damage the backbone of the infrastructure that is in place.
Commissioner Adam Silver says the NBA is having “much more serious” talks with FIBA about expansion in Europe—either with a tournament or even a league.@colincsalao has the latest ⬇️
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 6, 2024
“On the other hand, in terms of regional competitions in Europe, it makes me think that many of the investors lose significant amounts of money every year. And although this is not just about money, things that make you lose money without any real sense ultimately do not survive,” he started out.
Silver then added, “We haven’t made any decisions. I still think we have a huge opportunity. It’s not that we want to transform an entire league in a short period of time, but I think there is a desire from our owners to invest more in basketball globally. Given the quality of basketball here in Europe, it would make sense for us to try to do something with it”.
Six months ago, news surfaced European portals suggesting that the American league was working with an investment fund called The Raine Group, in an attempt to analyse growing financial opportunities on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Euroleague, for example, has recognized in the past they’ve held talks with the NBA, but many fans and experts believe that this might corrupt the essence of European basketball. “The fear has always been that if the NBA gets in, it will be like the United States: business, entertainment and then sport,” European sources told insider Mike Vorkunov.
The expansion will certainly begin in the United States, as the league is considering to add new teams to the NBA and has many potential destinations
For the past years, the NBA has held many important events in Las Vegas, and Adam Silver expressed his excitement to keep building a relationship with the city. As the 20th Summer League took place in July and the NBA Cup set to return to the T-Mobile Arena, the future looks promising for an expansion.
“Now in the 20th year of the Summer League, we’ve estimated and been told that the economic impact is close to a quarter of a billion dollars,” Silver said last month. “We really appreciate how Las Vegas has developed in the 20 years we’ve been here, to the point where we can say it is the undisputed entertainment capital of the world. We look forward to doing even more here.”
With new and innovative venues such as Sphere hosting last month’s NHL draft, many entrepreneurs around the sport world are wondering if Las Vegas will attract other leagues to the city.
“We’re not looking to travel the draft at the moment, but I did watch the NHL draft on television, and I said it was a truly spectacular experience coming out of the Sphere,” the commissioner concluded.
