Basketball-NBA finalizing Europe league club deals, Tatum says篮球——NBA正在敲定与欧洲联赛俱乐部的交易，塔图姆表示
Oct 20 (Reuters) - The NBA is close to finalizing agreements with clubs for the initial phase of its own European league and plans to announce those teams soon, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said on Tuesday while adding that the door to reaching an agreement with the Euroleague remains open.
FILE PHOTO: Dec 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; A view of the Christmas logo for the NBA before the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images/File Photo
Oct 20 (Reuters) - The NBA is close to finalizing agreements with clubs for the initial phase of its own European league and plans to announce those teams soon, Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said on Tuesday while adding that the door to reaching an agreement with theEuroleague remains open.
Tatum, speaking to reporters on the opening day of the 2026-27 NBA season, said the league remains undeterred in powering ahead with NBA Europe next October even after Europe’s biggest basketball clubs recently snubbed an offer to team up with the NBA.
"Well, we're we're not stopping and we're moving and proceeding as quickly as we can," Tatum said on avideocall. "Our plan is to begin rolling out this project in October of 2027, which is a year from now. So we've got a lot of work to do, but we're we're moving quickly and we're not slowing down at all."
Tatum also said agreements with NBA Europe franchises are being finalized and that an announcement would be made in the "not-too-distant future". According to Tatum, the new league will result in thelargest investment in European basketball, one that covers academies, grassroots development, league operations, marketing and arena infrastructure.
DIFFERENT VISION FOR EUROPEAN BASKETBALL
The NBA and world basketball governing body FIBA formally announced their plans in March for an NBA Europe venture, one that would be a mix of permanent franchises and others that would qualify on a yearly basis based on performance.
TheEuroleague currently consists of 13 permanent shareholder clubs but plans to approve up to eight long-term franchise licenses as it expands to a 24-club competition with new franchises expected to be announced in mid-November.
"We have a different vision for European basketball than potentially theEuroleague had," Tatum told Reuters on Tuesday.
"TheEuroleague seemingly wants to double down on what they've been doing. We have a different vision. We have a vision of re-imagining and realigning the European basketball ecosystem that's built on a merit-based foundation that gives every fan the right to dream."
According toEuroleague, approximately 40% of licensed clubs are considered financially sustainable. It projects that all licensed clubs will achieve financial sustainability by the end of the first phase of a 10-year business plan announced last week.
'MUCH MORE FINANCIAL STABILITY'
Tatum questioned the Euroleague's expansion strategy and suggested the NBA's model would provide a quicker pathway to profitability. According to Tatum,permanent NBA Europe franchises are projected tobe profitable by Year 3.
"As I think about their plans for expansion, again, look at what they've said in terms of their teams and financial instability of the teams. And so ... when you add new teams, and teams already are not financially sustainable, is that a model that you want to follow?" Tatum said.
His comments came a day after Euroleague CEOChus Bueno warned of the dangers of further fragmenting the continent's basketball market, going as far as to call such a scenario "a disaster".
According to Tatum, the choice is simple.
"Our model will provide clubs with a much quicker path to profitability," said Tatum. "Over the first decade we project multibillions of dollars in distributions back to clubs. That is going to give them much more financial stability. It's going to give them the ability to reinvest in the basketball ecosystem."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, additional reporting by Ruairidh Barlow in Madrid, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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资料照片：2025年12月25日；美国加利福尼亚州旧金山；在金州勇士队与达拉斯独行侠队于大通中心球馆进行的比赛前，NBA圣诞节标志的展示。图片来源：Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images/资料照片（必须注明出处）
10月20日（路透社）——NBA副总裁马克·塔图姆周二表示，NBA即将与各俱乐部敲定其欧洲联赛第一阶段的协议，并计划很快宣布这些球队名单。他还补充说，与欧洲篮球联赛达成协议的大门仍然敞开。
塔图姆在 2026-27 NBA 赛季开幕当天对记者表示，尽管欧洲最大的篮球俱乐部最近拒绝了与 NBA 合作的提议，但联盟仍然坚定不移地将在明年 10 月继续推进 NBA 欧洲联赛。
“我们不会停下脚步，我们会尽最大努力加快进度，”塔图姆在视频通话中说道。“我们的计划是在2027年10月开始推出这个项目，也就是一年后。所以我们还有很多工作要做，但我们会快速推进，丝毫没有放慢脚步。”
塔图姆还表示，与NBA欧洲联赛各球队的协议正在敲定中，并将在“不久的将来”发布公告。据塔图姆称，新联赛将带来欧洲篮球史上最大的一笔投资，涵盖青训营、基层发展、联赛运营、市场营销和场馆基础设施等各个方面。
欧洲篮球的不同愿景
NBA 和世界篮球管理机构 FIBA 于 3 月正式宣布了他们的 NBA 欧洲计划，该计划将包括永久特许经营权和其他根据每年表现获得资格的特许经营权。
欧洲篮球联赛目前由 13 家永久股东俱乐部组成，但计划批准至多 8 个长期特许经营许可证，以扩充至 24 支球队的比赛规模，预计新的特许经营权将于 11 月中旬宣布。
“我们对欧洲篮球的愿景可能与欧洲篮球联赛的愿景不同，”塔图姆周二告诉路透社。
“欧洲篮球联赛似乎想加倍投入他们一直在做的事情。我们有不同的愿景。我们的愿景是重新构想和调整欧洲篮球生态系统，使其建立在以成绩为基础的基础上，让每个球迷都有权利追逐梦想。”
根据欧洲篮球联赛（Euroleague）的数据，约有40%的持牌俱乐部被认为实现了财务可持续性。该联赛预计，所有持牌俱乐部都将在上周公布的十年商业计划第一阶段结束时实现财务可持续性。
“财务稳定性大幅提升”
塔图姆质疑欧洲篮球联赛的扩张策略，并指出NBA的模式能更快地实现盈利。据塔图姆称，NBA欧洲联赛的永久球队预计在第三年就能实现盈利。
“当我思考他们的扩张计划时，我再次看到他们之前对旗下球队以及球队财务状况不稳定的表态。所以……当你增加新球队，而现有球队的财务状况本身就难以维持时，这真的是你想要效仿的模式吗？”塔图姆说道。
他的这番言论是在欧洲篮球联赛首席执行官丘斯·布埃诺警告欧洲篮球市场进一步分裂的危险之后一天发表的，布埃诺甚至称这种情况为“一场灾难”。
塔图姆认为，选择很简单。
“我们的模式将为俱乐部提供一条更快实现盈利的途径，”塔图姆说道。“我们预计，在第一个十年里，将有数十亿美元的收益返还给俱乐部。这将大大增强他们的财务稳定性，并使他们有能力对篮球生态系统进行再投资。”
（Frank Pingue 在多伦多报道，Ruairidh Barlow 在马德里补充报道，Pritha Sarkar 编辑）
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