Basketball-Euroleague CEO still open to NBA Europe deal, warns against market fragmentation

Oct 16, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; A basketball sits on the court during the first half of the game between the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images/ File Photo

MILAN/MADRID, Oct 19 (Reuters) - ⁠The Euroleague remains open to talks with the NBA over a potential tie-up in Europe, with CEO Chus Bueno warning that ⁠competing leagues would fragment the continent's basketball market.

The continent's premier club basketball competition rejected an NBA collaboration proposal at ‌an owners' meeting held at Italy's Lake Como on October 6.

With the NBA pressing ahead with plans to launch a new European league in 2027, the prospect of two rival competitions emerging is increasingly coming into focus. Bueno warned of the dangers of further fragmenting the market.

"If they decide to (enter into the market), it's going to be ​a disaster. And they know, we know, and we don't want that," Bueno told ⁠Reuters on Monday.

"We had some conversations after Como. And ⁠the position of the owners was very clear. We will always be open to listen, and to talk with the NBA about any ⁠potential ‌deal. But it has to make sense for us," said Bueno.

"The telephone lines are open and, if something has not worked, maybe there's something that can work in the future," he added, declining to elaborate on the terms of the NBA Europe proposal.

The Euroleague currently consists of 13 permanent shareholder clubs but plans to approve up ​to eight long-term franchise licences as it ‌expands to a 24-club competition.

Bueno said the league will announce the new teams joining the competition in mid-November as part ⁠of a multi-year growth ​strategy unveiled last week.

Under the expansion plan, which includes a shift to a franchise-based model, the collective value of the Euroleague's licensed clubs is projected to triple to €5.4 billion ($6.06 billion) from an estimated €1.8 billion.

The league itself is expected to rise in value to €7.98 billion from €1.4 billion, or 5.7 times its current estimated value, ⁠over the next decade.

Of the current Euroleague licence holders, only 40% are sustainable, ​butBueno said that would change going forward.

"I think that in five years with this expansion, we could be in a position wheremost, if not all, of them will be (financially) sustainable," hesaid.

Bueno also said he viewed the prospect of Euroleague clubs leaving to join NBA Europe as unlikely, ⁠arguing that the risks involved would be too great for the teams concerned.

"I don't believe this is going to happen. I think that the teams want to be together and act together. And this is what I'm hearing and what we heard in Lake Como from all of them.

"If you are divided, you lose value, and then some third party benefits. One of the things that we don't want is more ​fragmentation," said Bueno, adding that "it will be bad for basketball."

The 13 shareholder clubs have all signed ⁠10-year franchise agreements tied to the strategic expansion plan.

"If they want to leave, they have a penalty they can pay, and then the clubs can ​also ask for individual damages. They will lose the €80 million-plus that they have in ‌shares.

"But if they ever want to come back, they will have to ​pay whatever number it is when they ask to come back," said Bueno, adding: "So I think that they have a lot to lose if they do (leave)."

(Reporting by Ruairidh Barlow in Madrid and Elvira Pollina in MilanEditing by Christian Radnedge)

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2026年10月16日；美国密歇根州底特律；在小凯撒球馆举行的底特律活塞队与多伦多猛龙队比赛上半场期间，一个篮球静静地躺在球场上。（图片来源：Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images/档案照片）

米兰/马德里，10 月 19 日（路透社）——欧洲篮球联赛仍愿意与 NBA 就欧洲潜在的合作进行谈判，首席执行官 Chus Bueno 警告说，“相互竞争的联赛将分裂欧洲大陆的篮球市场”。

欧洲顶级俱乐部篮球联赛在10月6日于意大利科莫湖举行的老板会议上拒绝了NBA的合作提议。

随着NBA推进其在2027年推出全新欧洲联赛的计划，两个相互竞争的联赛出现的可能性日益凸显。布埃诺警告说，市场进一步分裂会带来风险。

“如果他们决定（进入市场），那将是一场灾难。他们知道，我们也知道，我们不希望那样，”布埃诺周一告诉路透社。

“科莫事件之后，我们进行了一些对话。老板们的立场非常明确。我们始终愿意倾听，并与NBA就任何潜在的交易进行对话。但这必须对我们有利，”布埃诺说道。

“电话线路畅通，如果有些事情行不通，将来或许会有办法解决，”他补充道，但拒绝详细说明NBA欧洲的提议条款。

欧洲篮球联赛目前由 13 家永久股东俱乐部组成，但随着联赛扩容至 24 支球队，计划批准多达 8 个长期特许经营许可证。

布埃诺表示，作为上周公布的多年增长战略的一部分，该联盟将于 11 月中旬宣布加入比赛的新球队。

根据这项扩张计划（其中包括向特许经营模式的转变），欧洲篮球联赛授权俱乐部的总价值预计将从估计的 18 亿欧元增长三倍，达到 54 亿欧元（60.6 亿美元）。

预计未来十年，该联赛的价值将从 14 亿欧元增至 79.8 亿欧元，是目前估计价值的 5.7 倍。

目前欧洲篮球联赛的参赛队伍中，只有 40% 能够持续经营，但布埃诺表示这种情况未来将会改变。

“我认为，经过五年的扩张，我们或许能够使其中大部分（如果不是全部）项目实现（财务上的）可持续发展，”他说。

布埃诺还表示，他认为欧洲篮球联赛俱乐部离开欧洲加入NBA欧洲的可能性不大，因为对相关球队来说，其中涉及的风险太大了。

“我不认为这会发生。我认为各队都想团结一致，共同行动。这是我听到的，也是我们在科莫湖听到的所有人的说法。”

“如果出现分裂，就会损失价值，进而损害第三方利益。我们最不希望看到的就是进一步的分裂，”布埃诺说道，并补充说，“这对篮球运动来说是件坏事。”

13 个股东俱乐部均已签署与战略扩张计划相关的 10 年特许经营协议。

“如果他们想离开，他们需要支付违约金，然后俱乐部还可以要求个人赔偿。他们将损失超过8000万欧元的股份。”

“但如果他们想回来，就必须支付他们申请回来时需要支付的金额，”布埃诺说，并补充道：“所以我认为如果他们离开，他们会损失很多。”

（马德里 Ruairidh Barlow 和米兰 Elvira Pollina 报道；Christian Radnedge 编辑）

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