The plans for the European NBA league continue, and this week a meeting between NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Real Madrid took place. According to The Athletic, figures from the Spanish club met with heads of the NBA in Paris on Thursday, with the goal of convincing the European giants to join the new league.
Real Madrid is one of the biggest basketball teams in Europe, winner of the EuroLeague a record 11 times. However, the relationship between the club and the FIBA competition is not the best, and their current licence with the competition ends in 2026. Thus, Real Madrid could be one of the teams chosen by NBA to take part in their new league.
According to the same report from the sports division of The New York Times, NBA also plans to meet with FC Barcelona, ASVEL Villeurbanne (France), and Fenerbahçe (Istanbul). The NBA heads were also in London earlier this week, meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan. The reason of the meeting is that London will host some NBA games next season, but Silver's intention is that London, as one of the largest cities in Europe, should also have a team in the European NBA.
The goal is to have 16 teams in the league, with a mix of old, established teams like Real Madrid, Barça, Fenerbahçe, and Alba Berlin, with new franchises. The report also talks that NBA met with Qatar Sports Investments, owners of Paris Saint-Germain, to discuss the creation of a "PSG basket".