You may have noticed a slew of recent stories regarding the NBA’s plans for a new basketball league in Europe. According to Bill Simmons, that’s not a coincidence.
On the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer founder called attention to such stories. And while it’s no secret that the NBA wants to expand its international footprint, Simmons offered some specifics on what the league might look like.
“From what I’ve heard and from what’s been reported, it’s probably a 10-team league, but they could get away with eight. Maybe you grow it to 12. You get a guaranteed spot in the league, you get the voting rights, you get better TV distribution, better sponsorship. You’re not relegating,” Simmons said. “And there would be some sort of link to the NBA, which I think is the key here. There are exhibition games, which they’ve already announced a bunch of them… maybe a tournament.
“And I’ve heard a couple different ideas for this and I don’t even know if they’ve decided on what they want to do yet. But you could have, maybe in October, you have the two best, three best NBA teams and the three best teams from this NBA Euro League, they have a little round robin. Maybe it’s just champ vs. champ, best of three. Maybe it’s something in February with all the best teams. There’s some sort of synergy thing. And it goes beyond just, ‘we’re gonna have some regular-season games over there and some exhibition games.'”
Simmons proceeded to speculate which current Euroleague teams could defect to the league based on the recent reporting regarding Adam Silver’s efforts, including high profile programs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. He also reversed course on his previous belief that NBA owners are concerned about the Maverick Carter-led international league, expressing skepticism that it will be able to deliver on its promise of high profile stars.
“Nobody really seems to think they’re gonna be able to get the kind of talent that they’re bragging that they could get,” he said. “I just think they’re gonna get their legs cut off by this [NBA] Euro League.”
As for when the NBA’s European league might start, Simmons expects it to happen sooner rather than later, In fact, the ex-ESPN columnist said he wouldn’t be surprised if it kicked off as early as the 2026-27 season.
Whether it’s Carter and LeBron James’ recent meting with Nikola Jokić’s agent or the reporting surrounding Silver, this much is clear: more European basketball is on its way. And if Simmons’ informed speculation is accurate, it could be here sooner than you’d think.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.