Overview
- Pending NBA and FIBA board approval, Mark Tatum set a two-year launch goal with franchise terms to be finalized in the coming months.
- JP Morgan and The Raine Group are advising on the business plan, with Sports Business Journal reporting franchise fees of $500 million to $1 billion and noting the NBA could walk away if valuations fall short.
- Phase one envisions 10–12 franchises focused on the UK, Spain, France, Italy and Germany, with Turkey and Greece under consideration.
- The NBA would operate the top tier with FIBA’s Basketball Champions League positioned as a second tier that offers four merit-based qualification spots each season.
- Investor outreach over roughly eight weeks will gauge interest as the league also schedules regular-season games in London (2026), Manchester and Paris (2027), and Berlin and Paris (2028), alongside a commitment of tens of millions of pounds for UK basketball infrastructure.