NEW YORK CITY – The National Basketball Association (NBA) has revealed its intention to consider launching in collaboration with FIBA, the international governing body for the sport.

Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement during a joint press conference with FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis following the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York City. The proposed competition may include top European teams currently competing in the EuroLeague, widely regarded as the world's second-best basketball league.

Silver emphasized that discussions are still in the exploratory phase, and no agreement has been reached. He expressed his hopes that the new league, which would significantly expand the NBA's presence in Europe after over a decade of , would "better serve basketball fans in Europe" while acknowledging the growing interest in the sport across the continent.

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Silver further noted, "There's a huge gap, I think, between the amount of interest in the sport and the development in terms of how we operate a league here in North America." Explaining FIBA's motivation for pursuing the joint venture with the NBA, Zagklis stated that the federation's role is to "unite as much as possible the basketball ecosystem."

The scheme anticipates utilising the existing basketball infrastructure, but it could potentially lead to the construction of new sports arenas across Europe. Silver revealed that the preliminary plan, which is open to alterations, involves 16 teams competing in the league, with 12 being permanent members and four spots up for grabs on an annual basis.

This bold move by the NBA comes less than two decades after the closed its European division, NFL Europa, due to a lack of profitability. The final version of NFL Europa had six teams based in England, Germany, the Netherlands, , and Spain.

In 2007, the NFL decided to focus on hosting regular-season games instead.

Speaking to Mirror U.S. Sports, Silver expressed optimism about the success of the NBA's own European league, citing basketball's established popularity in Europe - it's the second most popular sport after football. While there's already a keen interest in basketball to tap into, questions linger about the new competition's ability to coexist with the EuroLeague.

This is where the potential involvement of well-known basketball brands like or Fenerbahce, both EuroLeague competitors, could be beneficial. Zagklis mentioned that EuroLeague teams, as well as participants in the FIBA-organised Basketball and clubs that only compete domestically, have shown interest in the NBA-run league.

"We're going to have a full range of discussions," Zagklis stated. "I want to be clear about the openness of our position, at least speaking for FIBA right now, on these discussions. This is very important, that we are having these conversations for our fans and for the development and growth of our sport.

"This does not mean that this happens to the detriment of other stakeholders. It's actually trying to raise the tide for everyone in European basketball."