Speculations on the partnership between the NBA and the European league have been gaining attraction for a while. It escalated when former NBA player Tony Parker was said to be acting as a bridge between the two. The 4x NBA champion is the owner of one of France’s premier basketball teams, ASVEL Basket.

Needless to mention, he has a strong connection to the European basketball market. However, talks on the progress hit a snag after the EuroLeague expressed concerns about the potential collaboration. Amidst the process, the Serbian head coach’s recent comments hinted at something bizarre.

The former San Antonio Spurs player confirmed that he has been part of the NBA’s active role in exploring the possibility of a future expansion. Supporting the efforts, he also wishes for the ASVEL to be part of the potential European project of the NBA. “I had a meeting with Adam Silver and Mark Tatum. The idea was to talk about European basketball and bring everyone back to the table, the NBA, EuroLeague, and FIBA. It is clear. We either reach an agreement or the NBA comes alone. We need to focus on a merger or a partnership,” he told French outlet L’Equipe.

Regarding the idea of a potential new league in Europe, head coach Željko Obradović has shown interest. He voiced it during his presence at the opening press conference of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Abu Dhabi. He also emphasized the importance of preserving European basketball culture. “We hear a lot of rumors. I don’t know what is true, but what is not true. We need to protect ourselves. We need everybody to understand that we have the best basketball over here in Europe. And let’s work in that way, everybody together,” he said.

“We need to protect what makes us special,” Euroleague Basketball president Dejan Bodiroga added. This could be a reaction to the NBA’s potential plans for launching a European league in association with FIBA.

While the NBA is keen on expansion, several challenges continue to hinder the process. One being the concerns mentioned earlier. There are also a few additional obstacles that have been added to it. 

What did the Euroleague CEO claim on the matter? 

Earlier, Euroleague CEO Paulius Motiejunas expressed his desire to protect European basketball too. While he too has shown interest in collaboration considering the global attention it has. However, the CEO clarified that the Euroleague has a strong footing in the local market. Motiejunas is seemingly not in favor of establishing a new league. 

“We can discuss, we can talk. There’s many ways to partner and to improve, to make the basketball product better. But we don’t need a new league. We’ve tried for years to bring all of the relevant stakeholders together, and we remain open to doing so,” he said (as per Japan Times).

Expanding into Europe, which boasts a rich basketball culture and passionate fan base, is a great decision but it won’t be an easy one. One of the most significant challenges is travel. U.S.-based teams mostly travel within one or two time zones. In contrast, European NBA teams would face long-distance travel across several time zones, likely leading to fatigue and scheduling difficulties.

Moreover, the Euroleague operates under a very different structure compared to the NBA, which is more unified. While both the NBA and Euroleague has shown interest in collaboration, these challenges brings the situation back to square one.