NBA and FIBA are still working to start the NBA Europe in October 2027, according to FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis, asked by EFE in a roundtable during the NBA Finals. "The mechanism is clear; we're working towards October 2027", Zagklis said, explaining that the competition will allow qualification via the Basketball Champions League (with three teams qualifying this way) and "one or more qualifying tournaments among the top-ranked teams in domestic leagues", based on a ranking of national leagues based on their participation in Europe.
"We want top clubs to be great in both sport and business, and we also pay attention to the sporting aspect and the vision of other clubs in Europe. The path to the elite must be visible, achievable, and sustainable", Zagklis said.
FIBA's Secretary General also talked about Pau Gasol's potential future role in the NBA Europe project, who is "one of the busiest retired players": it was reported that he would have an "important role" in the project but was later chosen as president of the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "It's something that depends on him. He's close, we'll see at the right time if and how he'll participate".
Will NBA Europe really be ready for October 2027?
Despite NBA's intentions, some recent reports have said that the league is unlikely to be ready in a little over a year as there's a lot of work to do: create new teams from the ground up in cities like London, Paris, or Manchester with little tradition in basketball, and convince some of the giant teams in Europe like Barcelona, Fenerbahçe, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, or Bayern Munich, who participate in EuroLeague, a private competition independent from FIBA. Of the EuroLeague teams, only Real Madrid seems to prefer the NBA project...