NBA to Announce European Expansion Winners Within 90 Days
The league's deputy commissioner says winning bids for 12 permanent European franchises will be revealed in the next 60 to 90 days.
The NBA is moving closer to one of the most ambitious expansions in professional basketball history, with Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum telling CNBC that the league expects to name winning bidders for 12 permanent European teams within the next 60 to 90 days. The announcement signals that what has long been speculated about as a distant ambition is now firmly in the execution phase.
A 12-team European league would represent a fundamental structural shift for the NBA, which has operated as a North American-only circuit throughout its history. The move would place the league in direct competition — and potential partnership — with established European basketball institutions, while opening up enormous new commercial markets for broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and merchandise across the continent.
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The timing of the announcement window, roughly mid-to-late 2025, suggests ownership groups, arena deals, and operational frameworks are already well advanced behind closed doors. Selecting 12 franchises simultaneously rather than staging them in waves indicates the NBA is treating this as a coordinated league launch rather than a gradual pilot program, a sign of considerable institutional confidence in the project's viability.
For investors and ownership groups that have reportedly been circling the process, the 90-day deadline creates immediate urgency. European basketball audiences, though passionate, have different consumption habits and competitive loyalties than American fans, meaning franchises will face real market-development challenges alongside the prestige of an NBA brand. How the league structures revenue sharing, player eligibility, and scheduling across time zones will be among the thorniest questions yet to be answered publicly.
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