EuroLeague shareholders have roundly rejected a merger proposal from the ​NBA to form a new overseas league, ‌ The Athletic reported on Tuesday.

The ​rejection by shareholding owners ⁠and other league executives at a meeting Tuesday in Cernobbio, Italy, could delay ‌NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s plans to launch NBA Europe.

Silver and ‌his top deputies have ‌said ⁠the project would move ⁠forward without the EuroLeague’s cooperation, per the report, and at least six EuroLeague teams have ​expressed interest in ‌joining the new venture.

EuroLeague owners did not like the terms of the proposal but are ‌still willing to negotiate, according to ​the report.

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“A few clubs are anti-NBA Europe, but a ⁠bulk of the clubs (just) didn’t like the proposal,” one European team executive ‌said.

Without securing a merger, one source told The Athletic that Silver’s October 2027 launch date for NBA Europe would be “impossible.”

The NBA has been developing its European ‌plans for more than a year, envisioning ​a continental championship featuring 12 permanent, license-holding franchises and four ⁠additional spots earned through merit-based qualification.

The ⁠12 markets for the permanent NBA Europe teams have ‌been identified as Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Istanbul, Milan, ​Munich, Berlin, Lyon, France, and Manchester, England.

Published on Oct 07, 2026