NBA Europe: "Investing in this league is not for those who are seeking short-term returns" (A. Silver)

"Timewise, we need to be realistic. It does not have so much to do with the existing basketball ecosystem, but rather with the time it takes to build a new brand and a new followership. There is no shortcut for that. Investing in this league is not for those who are seeking short-term returns. This is a project that will be multi-decade in the making," said Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, at a press conference on the sidelines of the regular-season match between Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies (118-111), relocated to the Uber Arena (17,000 seats) in Berlin (GER) on 15/01/2026.

This match is one of six NBA regular season games to be played in Europe (in England, Germany and France) between 2026 and 2028 (two relocated games for each regular season). "Fans from 62 different countries bought tickets for this game. Because we host so little regular season games in Europe, these games become analogous to All Star Games in many ways. It seems that regardless of what teams we’re bringing, we see a convergence of the basketball community," said Adam Silver.

The NBA commissioner also…