“We believe that the time has come to go to the next stage,” he said alongside the leader of the International Basketball Federation. Without delivering a lot of details.

The NBA goes “explorer” The creation of a professional league in Europe with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as a partner, announced its boss Adam Silver, Thursday, March 27. “It's not a new discussion”explained the manager at a press conference in New York, recalling that the subject has been on the table for decades, “But we think the time has come to take the next step”.

At this stage, the NBA is considering a league with twelve permanent franchises, not dependent on their sporting results, and four members likely to change each year. “But this could change” Over the preparation work, warned the manager. Adam Silver and the Secretary General of FIBA, Andreas Zagklis, present at the press conference, refused to detail further the project, the first assuring that “Nothing has yet been decided”.

This league could constitute a dangerous competitor for the Euroligue, now considered the second best world championship. Asked about talks with the Euroligue, Andreas Zagklis said it was “Our mission to have contacts with clubs”without more precision. Adam Silver said that talking about“exploration” and not the creation of a league was linked to the fact that “We (wanted) to have open and direct conversations with stakeholders and not secret discussions”.

According to several media, PSG, Manchester City, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Fenerbahçe surveyed by the NBA to integrate the future league. “QSI was approached concerning a basketball franchise in Paris, for which we have expressed interest”a spokesperson for PSG told AFP. According to the Sporto specialized site, the entry ticket for the creation of a deductible could be set at least $ 500 million. The new deductibles would each be checked 50% by the NBA and half by other investors.