PARIS (AP) — The NBA is still exploring ways to expand its role in European basketball and those talks with FIBA and other stakeholders will continue, Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday.
That means there's no deal — yet. But Silver, speaking before the start of the NBA Paris Games between San Antonio and Indiana, gave no indication that the league is softening its stance that more can be done. Meetings were had in Paris this week, and those talks will continue in the coming months.
“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,” Silver said. “And not just because commercial opportunity suggests you can grow revenue, but because we believe that with markets, if you can create proper incentives, you can get significant additional investment. And ultimately, that’s the way to grow the game at all levels.”
In August, during the Paris Olympics, Silver said in an interview with The Associated Press that the league had started ramping up talks with FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, on adding either an annual competition in Europe or even having an NBA-operated league.
Similar talks have been taking place for some time. But these conversations are about the vision that the NBA and FIBA evidently share about the potential of the game in Europe from both a commercial and competitive standpoint.
“We have no agreements in place,” Silver said. “We’re not ready to make any additional announcements and we’ll continue to learn all we can and to see if there is a path to move forward.”
Silver said he believes the NBA remains “on track” in the process. He said the league's governors would be briefed further at their next scheduled meeting in March.
Thinking of Pop
Silver used his introductory remarks on Thursday to ensure that he sent well-wishes to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who has been away from his team for nearly three months while recovering from a stroke.
Silver raved about San Antonio's commitment to seeing the game through a global lens, something the Spurs were doing long before Victor Wembanyama came to the NBA in 2023.
“They were a pioneer around the international game, as you all well know. They were scouting internationally in a deep way long before many other teams. And those efforts were led by (Spurs CEO) R.C. Buford, who is here with us now, but also Coach Gregg Popovich.
“And I just want to say, we miss not having him here with us today. And on behalf of everyone at the league office, wish him a speedy recovery.”
All-Star future
The NBA changed the format of the All-Star Game for this season, going to a four-team tournament made up of eight-player teams — 24 “All-Stars” from the NBA and then the fourth team will be the one that wins the Rising Stars competition on All-Star Friday.
It's not the only change the NBA is thinking about. Silver is determined to find ways to make the All-Star Game more competitive.
“We have explored the idea of doing a U.S. team versus a World team," Silver said. “And maybe we will do that one day.”
That wouldn't be easy. The league is roughly 70% American, 30% International.
“Not to say we couldn’t figure out a way around this, but to the extent we want to have a fair process for picking All-Stars,” Silver said. “If you’re picking half the players from a 30% pool and the other half from 70%, it may not be fair to the players.”
He's also not sure international players would be keen on the concept.
The last two All-Star Games rewrote the offensive record books. Boston’s Jayson Tatum set an individual record with 55 points in 2023, and last year’s final score was 211-186 — the highest-scoring All-Star Game ever.
“I haven’t given up on All-Star being competitive, entertaining games for the fans,” Silver said. “That’s certainly not where we were (last) year.”
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