The global sports landscape is gearing up for a seismic shift. The NBA is going global, far beyond an expansion team and a few exhibition games. And it’s not going to be limited to infiltrating EuroBasket’s turf. Adam Silver raised the stakes for a European expansion through one dinner with some major investors.

A report by The Athletic revealed that the NBA commissioner hosted a gathering in a fancy London hotel. In attendance was Pau Gasol, the Lakers legend who will have a potential role in NBA Europe, and also representatives from Qatar Sports Investments and the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

If that name rings a bell, the Doha-based group is indeed the group behind the soccer team, Paris Saint-Germain. The QIS is keen on adding a basketball club to its portfolio, preferably in the new international NBA.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF owns English Premier League club Newcastle United, but they’re better known for LIV Golf, the PGA’s rival golf league. It sent officials to Silver’s meeting. But whether they are considering franchise ownership or buying a stake in the new league itself is unclear.

If their presence is any indication of Silver’s expansion plans, we might be seeing the basketball version of LIV Golf.

Adam Silver’s European expansion could disrupt the basketball landscape

Market analysts predict that PIF might be eager, bordering on desperate, to get a footing in the court. Because they’re falling behind on the greens.

While LIV Golf disrupted the status quo and nearly stole Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal from the NBA, its momentum was short-lived. PIF has injected an estimated $5 billion into the golf league. But competing with the PGA, staggering viewership, and dwindling hopes for a merger with the global golf body have amounted to major losses to the tune of $1 billion.

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As LIV Golf is no longer giving them returns, PIF is potentially looking for a new sports asset.

Pau Gasol accurately said that basketball gives these investors “a unique opportunity.” With Adam Silver’s blessing, they don’t get to be in direct competition with the NBA (EuroBasket is a whole other topic). The new league is in tandem with FIBA and reportedly has European basketball stars like Tony Parker and Pau Gasol in the fold.

Gasol was one of the NBA representatives at Silver’s conference. “It’s all about learning from each other. It’s all about creating this new venture together. Yes, we’re talking about (the) league, but this goes far beyond. It is about the ecosystem, it’s about the grassroots, it’s about the domestic leagues and it’s about the impact on the children. … There’s so much at stake, and that’s why I think this is so important and so impactful, and why I’m so excited to be a part of it too,” he told the room of investors.

By partnering with Silver’s European project, the PIF is positioning itself not just as a passive investor but as a foundational pillar of a new basketball ecosystem designed to rival the EuroLeague. Yet Silver cautioned investors that the ROI on a brand-new parallel league will be slow. So maybe the PIF would have to exercise more patience than they had with LIV Golf.