The NBA has long expressed interest in expanding its product in Europe. To some extent, it has done that with both preseason and regular season games being played there. Many have speculated, however, that the end goal has been to bring in European franchises to compete with the rest of the league. NBA commissioner Adam Silver, however, is now claiming that the league is taking a step back from that plan.
Silver spoke to the media before a thrilling overtime game between the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic in London (h/t Pro Basketball Talk for the transcription):
We are not actively taking steps to bring a franchise to Europe or expand to Europe. It’s something we’ve looked at over the years. It just doesn’t feel like the time is ripe right now, especially given what is going on, in the prior question, with the Euroleague and FIBA (those two entities are at war over dates of qualification for FIBA events and more). We think the best place for the NBA right now is to showcase an NBA game here in London, to play our preseason games here, and to work on a grassroots level to develop the game. But at the current time, we are not looking at franchises in Europe.
Clearly, trying to expand the NBA into Europe is nearly impossible, logistically. The travel time alone for American and European teams to play each other is enough reason to not go through with this idea. Instead, the NBA can continue to follow the model of European soccer in expanding its brand through playing preseason games in Europe. So far, that has been a successful strategy as exemplified by Thursday’s game in London.
