NBA Europe Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: All-Star Snubs, WNBA, Clark, Europe, Canales

January 31st, 2025 at 10:38pm CST by Luke Adams

There weren’t enough backcourt spots to go around on this year’s All-Star teams, in the view of Marc J. Spears of Andscape, whose annual eight-man “All-Snub” team is made up of seven guards and one center.

Outside of big man Domantas Sabonis, the most glaring omissions from this year’s All-Star rosters were all guards, Spears writes, identifying Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Zach LaVine, and Tyrese Maxey as four worthy All-Star candidates who didn’t make the cut in the Eastern Conference despite the fact that both Eastern wild card spots went to backcourt players.

Over in the West, Kyrie Irving, Devin Booker, and Norman Powell joined Sabonis as the players most deserving of All-Star recognition who weren’t among the 12 Western players chosen to participate in the game, according to Spears.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Several NBA team owners submitted bids for expansion WNBA franchises ahead of this week’s deadline. Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports says Pistons owner Tom Gores was among the owners to put in a bid, while Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter links) reports that the Sixers‘, Cavaliers‘, and Rockets‘ ownership groups also put forth formal bids. The new teams approved by the WNBA as a result of this round of bidding would begin play in 2028.
In other WNBA-related news, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has decided not to take part in a special three-point shooting challenge at the NBA’s All-Star weekend in February, per an ESPN report. There had been speculation that Clark could take part in a contest similar to last year’s Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu shootout, but she wants to compete in her first three-point contest at the WNBA’s All-Star weekend in Indianapolis later this year, according to her representatives at Excel Sports.
If the NBA moves forward with its plan to launch a new professional league in Europe, what will it look like? ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has published an informative primer, while Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews has shared his latest reporting on the subject. Interestingly, Windhorst notes that commissioner Adam Silver and his top lieutenants are “deeply involved” in the European endeavor and wonders if the league’s focus on “NBA Europe” might further delay the timeline for expansion stateside.
Veteran NBA assistant and current Texas Legends associate head coach Kaleb Canales will be named head coach of the Calgary Surge in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). The CEBL season takes place during the NBA offseason, so Canales could rejoin an NBA staff for the 2025/26 season, Haynes notes.

Latest On Potential NBA-Run European League

January 24th, 2025 at 10:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking this week to reporters in Paris, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the NBA continues to explore the idea of launching a league in Europe. Reporting in December indicated that the NBA and FIBA were discussing the concept, and Silver addressed those talks earlier this month in an appearance on Shaquille O’Neal’s podcast.

As Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes, Silver’s comments this week were his most expansive on the subject, as well as his most intriguing. The NBA commissioner suggested that he believes the EuroLeague – Europe’s current top basketball league – is leaving money on the table, Windhorst notes.

“While Europe continues to develop some of the very best players in the world — many of our most recent MVPs, of course, are European — we think that the commercial opportunity has not kept pace with the growth of the game,” Silver said. “And what we do at the NBA is we run leagues.

“We, of course, run the WNBA, we have the [Basketball Africa League], we have the G League, we have a 2K video league. So we operate five different leagues and we think it’s an expertise we have. And so we are looking very closely to see if there’s an opportunity to professionalize the game to another level here to create a larger commercial opportunity.”

According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, the NBA is considering various models for its league — it could include new teams, existing clubs, or a combination of the two. Vorkunov says sources in Europe have continuously mentioned Real Madrid as a club that might be interested in leaving the EuroLeague for the NBA’s new venture.

While other EuroLeague teams could also be candidates to defect, the NBA has also reached out to some major European soccer clubs to see if they would have interest in creating new basketball teams, sources tell Windhorst. Both Windhorst and Vorkunov mention Manchester and Berlin as markets the NBA is looking at, with Vorkunov also listing London, Paris, and Munich as a few more possibilities.

The league may schedule NBA regular season games in one or more of those markets within the next couple seasons, per Windhorst and Vorkunov.

“Everything is on the table,” Silver responded when asked by BasketNews whether the NBA’s European league could feature EuroLeague teams. “So, [the] potential to include existing clubs? Absolutely there should be interest. The opportunity to create sustainable competition? Yes. Would we want to have a broad base of countries represented? Absolutely.

“I mean, that’s the benefit we have now by coming in and looking at this from a blank canvas. Incidentally, I recognize there’s enormous history and tradition here in European basketball, and we want to respect those traditions.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s potential foray into Europe:

In order to move forward with a European league, the NBA would need to get the support of its Board of Governors. Windhorst, citing ownership sources, says there are still plenty of questions about the league’s plans, especially since some of the other leagues the NBA operates haven’t been consistently profitable. According to Windhorst, Silver suggested this week that a decision on whether or not to continue moving forward on a European league could be made following a Board of Governors meeting in a couple months. “We have an NBA board meeting in late March,” Silver said. “We’ll be giving an update to our bosses, in essence.”
Of course, March’s meeting won’t be the first time that the league shares its plans with NBA team owners. As Windhorst writes, FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis made a presentation to team owners in New York in the fall about a potential European league, while George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s managing director of Europe and the Middle East, met with a committee of owners in November and spoke about which cities the league would target.
League officials from the NBA and EuroLeague met last year as the NBA looked to partner with the established league on its new venture, says Vorkunov. The EuroLeague rejected the NBA’s proposal, since it didn’t want to give up control of its operations. “They wanted the heart and the head,” a EuroLeague executive told The Athletic.
Vorkunov describes “dissent” among prominent European basketball figures about the impact of the NBA’s entry into the market. “I think the NBA walks into the European business and revenues go up a whole bunch,” one EuroLeague club owner said. “I don’t know how they do that, but they’re experts at it.” Others aren’t so sure, Vorkunov explains, noting that another club owner doesn’t believe there’s room for both the EuroLeague and an NBA league to succeed in Europe.

And-Ones: MVP Race, Maledon, Flagg, Dybantsa

January 21st, 2025 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Most Valuable Player race for this season already looks like it’ll be a two-man race, according to Zach Harper of The Athletic, who points to the current betting odds as evidence.

BetOnline.ag currently lists Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the frontrunner at -400, followed relatively closely by Nuggets center Nikola Jokic at +250. After those two, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks is all the way down at +4000, with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum at +5000.

Last season’s MVP Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander were among the three finalists for the award in 2024 alongside Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, who has already missed more than 17 games, taking him out of the running due to the 65-game rule. 2023 MVP Joel Embiid will also fall short of 65 games and has been eliminated from contention.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Tony Parker, the president of ASVEL Basket in France, said during an interview with RMC Sport (YouTube link) that he believes current ASVEL standout Theo Maledon will receive NBA offers in the offseason, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays. Maledon, who previously played 177 regular season NBA games for three teams from 2020-24, has averaged 18.0 points and 4.5 assists per game in 22 EuroLeague outings this season, posting a shooting line of .457/.387/.889.
Within the same interview, Parker expressed interest in getting ASVEL involved in the NBA’s rumored foray into European basketball, Askounis notes. “When you see what the NBA is doing, they are very strong. Whether it is marketing or the new TV rights contract that will start next year,” Parker said. “We need to be associated with that. I want there to be NBA Europe and for us to be part of it.”
Duke standout Cooper Flagg has solidified his place atop the 2025 NBA draft class with his recent play, according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who says Flagg’s performance over the past month – 23.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.6 APG, and a .561/.500/.881 shooting line – is arguably the best stretch for a college freshman since Zion Williamson was a Blue Devil.
Meanwhile, Jared Weiss of The Athletic checks in on some of 2026’s best prospects, including A.J. Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer, who were taking part in the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass. over the weekend. While Dybantsa wasn’t at his best during the event, Weiss says he spoke to multiple scouts who believe the 6’9″ wing could eventually become the NBA’s second-best player behind Victor Wembanyama.

And-Ones: All-Star Voting, New Leagues, Midseason Awards

January 17th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Dana Gauruder

The third update on fan voting for the All-Star Game has Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and Kevin Durant heading the list of Western Conference frontcourt players, the NBA announced on Thursday (via Twitter). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic have received the most votes among Western Conference backcourt players.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns are the top three vote-getters among Eastern Conference frontcourt players, while LaMelo Ball, Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard have the most votes among the conference’s backcourt players.

The fan vote counts for 50 percent regarding All-Star starters. Player voting and a media panel’s selections are weighed at 25 percent apiece. Fan voting ends Monday and the All-Star starters will be revealed on Thursday during a TNT broadcast.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Will a new basketball league to challenge the NBA come to fruition? According to Bloomberg.com, a group of investors being advised by Maverick Carter, LeBron’s business partner, is seeking to raise $5 billion from private capital sources to form an international basketball league. James himself is not part of the efforts to form this new league, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The investors, which includes multiple private equity funds, are looking to form a league consisting of six men’s teams and six women’s teams playing games around the world, Charania adds.
Speaking of international games, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Shaquille O’Neal’s podcast that discussions have been held regarding a new European league, Eurohoops relays. “One of the things we’ve been discussing is whether, before adding NBA franchises in Europe, there’s an opportunity to create an independent league there. This could leverage the enormous interest in basketball in major European capitals like Paris, London, Berlin, and Madrid— and other major cities that love basketball,” Silver said. Discussions between the NBA and FIBA regarding the proposed league have previously been reported.
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix and Liam McKeone hand out their midseason awards, including Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year. Mannix chooses Gilgeous-Alexander as his midseason MVP, while McKeone selects Jokic. They also take a look at the highs and lows of the season so far.

FIBA, NBA Discuss Potential European League

December 10th, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has put off expansion domestically in recent years but the league could expand its reach into Europe. There are reportedly serious conversations regarding an NBA-owned league in Europe that could initially compete with the EuroLeague and top pro leagues in individual countries, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon reports.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and his office have had discussions with FIBA officials regarding the possibility of starting a new league overseas.

“There is clear interest (by the NBA) and there are ongoing discussions with FIBA,” Andreas Zagklis, the secretary general for FIBA. “We’ve been having and will continue having discussions with … the company that operates the EuroLeague. It is something that has been on our radar. We tried to bring everyone together. This was not possible. So our job is to continue having serious conversations with our partners at the NBA.”

As Vardon explains, the EuroLeague is a conglomerate of 18 teams comprising two tiers of franchises — 13 permanent members and five that must qualify. The permanent members are shareholders in the EuroLeague and operate under a license, but the license expires after the 2025/26 season.

Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul are mulling whether to allow their licenses to expire. Another European club, ALBA Berlin, would reportedly be excluded from becoming a permanent EuroLeague member if current licensing agreements are extended. Those four clubs have academy systems for developing players that are being studied by the NBA, Vardon adds.

Another issue that is being addressed between FIBA and the NBA regards a minor adjustment to the league’s calendar for the 2027/28 season.

The 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles begin July 14 of that year, approximately three weeks after Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Eight teams will qualify for the Olympics at the World Cup in 2027 but FIBA must host four qualifying tournaments shortly before the Olympics to decide the final four bids to Los Angeles.

FIBA scheduled those qualifying tournaments from June 26- July 2 in 2028. Teams in those qualifiers will undoubtedly have NBA players and FIBA would like to give those national teams a reasonable amount of prep time.

“We cannot play any later because of the Olympics, and we cannot play earlier because we don’t have the availability of the players,” Zagklis said. “The conversation with the NBA is there. I do not expect a major adjustment to their schedule. But if it is a question of one or two or three days, we’ve always been collaborating well and I think we will find a solution.”