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Battersea Power Station’s undeveloped estate is being considered as a potential arena site for a London team in the NBA’s planned European competition, sources with knowledge of discussions told The Athletic. The NBA is targeting autumn 2027 for the launch of a 16-team competition in Europe, with London among 12 cities expected to host permanent franchises.
American technology billionaire Nikesh Arora is in talks to buy the new London team in the NBA’s European expansion, according to sources with knowledge of the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sale talks are still ongoing.
The NBA Europe basketball league planned by the NBA and FIBA could generate $2.2 billion in economic activity in Istanbul between 2027 and 2036, according to projections included in a report by The Sports Consultancy. Istanbul is among 12 European cities expected to host teams with permanent licenses in the new competition, alongside Rome, Milan, London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Munich and Athens.
EuroLeague and the NBA have continued exploring whether their competing projects can be combined, but Chus Bueno acknowledged that the two sides currently have significantly different visions. Speaking on the StreamTime Sports Podcast, Bueno explained that both organizations would need to alter their proposed models before a partnership could become realistic. "I think that if I had come earlier, we would not have today two models that are very different. So let's be honest, they have a model that does not match our model, or our model does not match their model; we both have to make changes," Bueno said.
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Despite the distance between the sides, Bueno did not rule out an eventual partnership. However, he stressed that both EuroLeague and the NBA would need to make concessions. The EuroLeague executive rejected a potential scenario in which the existing competition would be expected to abandon its project and simply join the NBA's proposed franchise model. "We have to both be generous in the approach. If they're saying 'Okay, come to me and shut it down and come to my franchise model,' then it's not our work. So we both have to be flexible," Bueno said.
Chus Bueno also addressed the NBA’s plans in Europe, revealing why he still believes cooperation would be a better outcome than direct competition between two rival leagues. According to Bueno, the franchise model is designed to provide long-term stability while opening the door to new strategic markets and investors. “When we scale our business, we want to do more, but also do it better. Not just scale for the sake of scaling, but scale the right way. When we think about franchises, maybe it makes sense to go to London, to Rome, to Berlin. Maybe it makes sense to rescue some big basketball IPs. Maybe they want to become franchises, so we offer them that opportunity. They’re going to have investors behind them because they’ll see certainty, a long-term project, and the chance to play against the best teams in Europe.”
Chus Bueno then outlined what he believes an NBA-EuroLeague partnership could look like in practice. “For me, it would be easier if we have the 13 teams, and then the five or six markets that they’re talking about. Then we have these 13 plus these five or six markets. I think that having all these teams together and going to the market to find somebody else would be better. The money that will be raised could compensate the people that have spent 26 years building this business, and we could also allocate some money for working capital and rebranding the partnership. I think that would be the normal way to do it in a partnership.”
Buss Sports Capital, a business venture launched by Joey and Jesse Buss following the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers, is actively pursuing NBA Europe franchises in multiple markets, sources briefed on their plans told The Athletic. The group has placed multiple bids for ownership in the developing league, including in London; Manchester, England; and Lyon, France. The sources, granted anonymity so they could speak freely about ownership strategies, said that a venture by Lakers star Luka Dončić and former Dallas Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson Jr. in Italy could also be a possibility.
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Silver said the level of interest has exceeded expectations, with several cities stepping forward even without being invited to bid. “In terms of NBA Europe, yes, things are where I hoped they would be. Mark Tatum is here, who is overseeing the process. We’ve had tremendous interest from multiple cities in Europe, including cities that we didn’t even ask for bids from.” The commissioner added that the NBA is currently finalizing bids for an initial group of cities and noted that many European bidders will be in New York for Sunday’s World Cup final. “We discussed with our board today that we’re in the process of finalizing those bids, I think for an initial group of cities. Many of the people who are involved in those bids, the European bidders, are actually going to be in New York for the World Cup final on Sunday.”
The NBA hired former Lithuanian star and Chicago Bulls vice president Artūras Karnišovas as its consultant for building NBA Europe, according to sources with direct knowledge of the hiring who were granted anonymity to discuss a personnel matter that had not been formally announced. Karnišovas, 55, will advise NBA commissioner Adam Silver and his deputies on governance and game rules for NBA Europe, how to identify and recruit talent, how to create pathways for players into the new league and potentially from the new league to the NBA, and how to expand the continent’s already strong youth player development model, those sources said. He will be a liaison between the NBA and the new European competition, NBA Europe and NBA teams, and FIBA, the international governing body for basketball that is partnering with Silver to stand up his new league.