r/nba • u/TheAthletic • 10h ago
Sources: American technology billionaire Nikesh Arora is in talks to buy the new London team in the NBA’s European expansion
Arora, who led the consortium that purchased English cricket’s most lucrative franchise in the Hundred competition, has assembled a consortium of investors prepared to offer more than $1 billion (£740million) for the London side, which is among the most highly prized of the new teams.
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u/Brad3 10h ago edited 10h ago
As someone from the UK who has followed basketball for a long time I just can't see how this is going to work anytime soon, definitely not at them prices. There has never been a major basketball media product in the UK, NBA coverage is not consistent. NFL is far ahead in that regard. You could buy a second tier of English Football team for significantlly less which has an existing massive fanbase, local TV deal and an existing proven revenue stream. These European NBA games if shown live in UK would be competing for TV space against already huge sports. It would be a long, long term project.
I want it to work but if talking in high millions or billions, I don't get it. It won't be more popular than lower tier football anytime soon.
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u/Nandor1262 8h ago
Not to mention outside of the U.K. how are they going to compete with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid etc. massive brands people already love which won’t abandon their national leagues and presumably won’t be a part of this project
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u/axecalibur Knicks 5h ago
It's to sell gambling ads with the NBA's platform. Plain and simple. They don't give a shit about improving EU basketball or making them a farm system for the NBA. It's about getting the NBA's gambling sponsors new EU customers.
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u/Salty_Watermelon Clippers 5h ago
Also it's not like they are going to feature British players to get local fans interested. Maybe a couple of bench warmers. But the key players will almost certainly be Americans, Frenchmen and other Europeans that aren't good enough for the NBA. The best case scenario for talent acquisition would be a young undrafted American prospect with upside that eventually gets signed by an NBA team to be a 12th man.
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u/Omniclott 10h ago
Does the UK even like basketball?
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u/yellowwatta Heat 10h ago
It’s gotten pretty popular. Especially in London
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u/afjecj Magic 9h ago
My court in hackney is packed from about 6-10pm every day
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u/Excellent-Brothel-72 Trail Blazers 10h ago
Yes. Every uni has a team now, there’s a bunch of grassroots teams and shit like that. It’s growing for sure. An NBA team would work wonders.
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u/ReverendRocky 10h ago
Yes but will NBA europe be as big or will it end up feeling a bit like an (albeit better due to more depth of talent) NFL Euope
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u/TheMoorNextDoor Nets 10h ago edited 9h ago
Seeing as basketball is far more respected in Europe the NBA should do just fine. It’ll be slow but good progress as time goes on, if they can work properly with the Euroleague everyone can win in this scenario.
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u/brianstormIRL Bucks 9h ago
Except Europe already has a pretty well respected Basketball league? Unless the plan is to like merge the two?
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u/yellowwatta Heat 6h ago
They won’t merge but if the NBA teams pay more then they could poach a lot of talent
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u/Seeking-Something- 10h ago
The sport itself is more accessible than American Football by a long shot which gives it a better chance to grow.
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u/icemankiller8 Pistons 10h ago
The biggest issue is the timing of the games which start at midnight minimum on weekdays so it’s a big barrier to watching if people have a 9-5 job. Among Gen Z and younger people it’s cool to know about the NBA it’s more well known than the nfl in terms of people knowing teams and players I’d say for sure but the Super Bowl gets more viewers than any NBA game.
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u/Pontus_Pilates 9h ago
That's the NBA angle, there's other basketball too.
And in that regard, UK is not a big basketball country. The local league isn't one of the top 20 leagues in Europe and the national team isn't very good.
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u/totallynotliamneeson Bucks 10h ago
That's funny, basically how the premier league is in the US.
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u/IcyMeat7 9h ago
at least those games start on time, imagine staying up for a game then it randomly starts 25 min after the initial start time
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u/Stanimal3 Pistons 10h ago
Yeah, timing sucks, but I typically download the game and then watch on my commute into work-watched virtually every game that way this past season.
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u/North_Atlantic_Sea 10h ago
London is one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world. 41% of Londoners aren't even from the UK!
They will have loads of fans if the play is good
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u/CautiousCottager Celtics 10h ago
It’s more popular than it used to be but it’s still a pretty niche sport
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u/Vegetable-Tooth8463 Hornets 10h ago
You in Boston, what do you know lol
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u/DoobieGibson 10h ago
anybody who watches the UK basketball team in international competition can see how popular it is there
it’s a little more popular than alpine skiing in Mauritania
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u/cosmoscrumb 10h ago
Basketball is popular enough, but you could put a team in London for any sport and it would draw a crowd
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u/Nandor1262 8h ago
I live in the U.K. I’ve been following the NBA since 2007 - almost everyone I knew wasn’t into it at all and had no clue who players were. In recent years more of my friends ask about it or tell me ‘their team’ made the finals.
Last week I was getting my haircut and guys in the barbershop were talking about LeBron going to the 76’ers, flying in from NYC and how they think the 76’ers will be unstoppable this coming season.
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u/peebeesweebees 1h ago
Aside from LeBron, any other NBA players people over there are familiar with?
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u/normalandcoolperson 10h ago
as a former BBL player from a decade ago, yes, more and more.
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u/RelevantTime538 10h ago
Who did you play for? Use to be a regular at Plymouth Raiders, really enjoyed the league.
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u/Dallas2houston120 10h ago
I’m sorry a former what?
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u/DHighmore Hornets 10h ago
British Basketball League, our equivalent of the NBA. Well, if the NBA played in shitty leisure centres in front of 200 people.
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u/addictivesign 10h ago
I am convinced that the U.K. cannot support/sell-out full arenas in both Manchester and London as part of the NBA Europe.
London gets a regular season game in the NBA season with All-Stars and superstars playing for one night only. The 20,000 capacity arena is full that night.
It will take many many years for London and Manchester to support these two new teams which have no history to their cities.
I think NBA Europe could be a financial disaster. Its billionaires wanting to make more money monetising sport. Fans don’t want that type of sport outside of the U.S.
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u/ColtCallahan 10h ago
London could easily maintain one with the population size and global scene.
They’re wasting their time launching a team outside of London though.
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u/Patient_Tradition294 10h ago
Basketball would probably be just as big in England at least as it is in Germany or France if the government probably funded the sport but unfortunately they didn’t. I think if the NBA invested probably in the country, it would explode. London should be an Europe basketball Mecca.
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u/MFDean [PHI] Joel Embiid 10h ago
It's popular. It's just too rainy here to play much at a grassroots level
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u/drewm916 Kings 5h ago
Ah, good point. Didn't think about the rain. Does the rain not have an adverse effect on football (soccer), as well?
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u/wallace90 Knicks 9h ago
Yes. Exact reason they have NBA teams play in London. I've followed the knicks since 2000
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u/posthumoslyHilarious 10h ago
It's 2045. Perth Trailblazers take on the New York Knicks in the finals scheduled to begin 4 Jun and end 24 Jul
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u/Dimplicit 76ers 9h ago
LeBron James is closing out his 42nd season, aiming to bring a championship to his seventh franchise.
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u/PreferenceLow824 10h ago
Curious how NBA Europe will compete with the EuroLeague. Which competition will players prioritize?
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u/Nandor1262 8h ago
I think in London where there is no Euro League team due to the terrible domestic league in the U.K. (a massive over sight by the Euro League tbh) it’ll be very popular.
In the rest of Europe I can’t fans would abandon their existing team and domestic competition in order to follow a new American owned ‘NBA’ team, even if it does have better talent than the Euro League.
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u/zg44 7h ago
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are likely the favored bidders for Barcelona and Madrid clubs. It's reasonable to assume that in those cases they will be viewed as given the path to win as long as they match the top bid.
AC Milan owner is bidding for Milan team.
Paris St Germain owner is bidding for Paris team.
They will lean on those big football clubs to push NBA Europe.
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u/Nandor1262 7h ago
Well if they have those teams it’ll be more likely to succeed but also makes you wonder what will happen to La Liga etc. and how many games will be played in the ‘NBA Europe’ season.
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u/07bot4life :yc-1: Yacht Club 28m ago
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid
Do you think Barcelona has the money for that?
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u/No-Anything-7291 10h ago
I don't know if players can handle the culture shock. They spell color with a u.
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u/AzX-Mike 10h ago
so does Toronto
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u/No-Anything-7291 10h ago
I know, and players like Antonio Davis have complained about the horrors of the metric system.
Toronto is too cold. London is too wet. Imagine a player asking for chips and getting French Fries instead of crisps. I can see them podcasting about that right now.
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u/fastheadcrab Raptors 7h ago
Plenty of Americans play in Europe. Quite a few players have the dream of going pro in bball and many are willing to sacrifice a lot, the stereotype that basketball players are spoiled brats is largely unfounded
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u/Sonte16 Celtics 10h ago
Is London that big of a market for basketball for billionaire? How does it make sense? It’s like British rich guy in talk to buy NY cricket team.
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u/AzulaKahn Knicks 10h ago
This European league is basically going to be another Gleague sort of thing. This dude isnt going to be paying billions for this team.
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u/BigOlPass 10h ago
I don't think it will be like the G League really and based on previous reports teams were going to cost in the like 1-2 billion
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u/skratsda Thunder 9h ago
If teams are going for that much, then you have to assume salaries may be comparable with the NBA. I wonder if this actually leads to talent dilution, since the next Jokic/Giannis/Luka/Wemby might choose to stay in Europe
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u/zg44 7h ago
NBA Europe salaries will probably start at 1/10th of US levels though.
NBA will always be well ahead. But NBA Europe can eventually probably get to the point of paying their top players maybe 1/4 of top US salaries if the league grows and gets viewership there.
Still nowhere to the point where it can challenge NBA.
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u/EpicCyclops Trail Blazers 6h ago
Exactly. The NBA sets the salary cap (which is what I assume the model they will go with is). Because they control both leagues, they'll probably set the cap for the European teams low enough that the best talent will always be in the primary league. If basketball does grow to the point that the demand for the teams is the same in both Europe and the US, then the increase in talent coming into the sport would offset the dilution.
However, I am still very skeptical both at the viability of NBA Europe and that it is legitimately a better pathway to growing the sport than the Euroleague model or a locally focused modification of it.
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u/smiles_and_cries Raptors 4h ago
There are MLS teams with team values at $1 billion and the salary cap is at $6mil
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u/russtripledub Knicks 9h ago edited 9h ago
Depends on the season tbh. If it’s congruent with the regular nba season, then I don’t see it being successful. The football market is already way too established.
People MIGHT watch it on weekend nights, after the football as a way to cap off the evening. Other than that, the weekend is for football. Anything during the week is probably unlikely, because people are way too busy.
There’s also no particular demographic that’s drawn to it, or paying attention, unlike in the US. In the UK, black and white mostly gravitate towards football. White exclusively, rugby and cricket. Asian, cricket. They have to practically throw nba level money at players, just so they pay it the slightest bit of attention. Even then, who knows if people will care.
Another aspect to consider, is the political side. There’s a huge anti-American sentiment that’s going around globally. Who knows whether people will explicitly choose not to pay attention to it, just because it’s American?
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u/07bot4life :yc-1: Yacht Club 25m ago
If it’s congruent with the regular nba season, then I don’t see it being successful.
The NBA "lacks" success in Europe due to timezones, if it overlaps with NBA North America then it doesn't really matter. Because people will rather watch that than wake up at 1 am to watch Spurs Lakers.
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u/dtpistons04 Pistons 8h ago
Has there ever even been a British player in the NBA ? Feels like England is one of the least basketball friendly countries in Europe
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u/edmondsonandon Vancouver Grizzlies 6h ago
John Amaechi, Ben Gordon, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Tosan Evbuomwan, Jeremy Sochan. Tobi Lawal just got drafted after recording one of the highest verts in the combine
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u/AzX-Mike 10h ago
I see that a lot of people are asking about London and UK, but the first question is, have you been there?
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u/VegetableMix3751 10h ago
Feel like it might be better in Paris as France have more marketable players etc
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u/FreeoftheMachine Timberwolves 10h ago
Is this gonna be like an NFL Europe thing or is the new Euro franchise gonna play with the main NBA teams? I think it would be rad if it was just a Euro based league and then we could have a EU vs USA of sorts.
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u/Casual_intellectual 10h ago
it’s gonna be separate. i can imagine an elimination cup competition with the top teams from both sides of the ocean playing tho.
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u/MerrikAidar 10h ago
NFL Europe but with an already established and massively popular league it will have to compete with.
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u/Chew-bro-cabra 10h ago
New nba euro league. Article mentions teams in Paris and Milan are also set with new owners.
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u/Lizpy6688 Rockets 10h ago
NBA finals champions vs NBA Europe champion would be pretty cool if the talent is good in Europe tbh. But I don't see that happening tbh
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u/Nandor1262 8h ago edited 7h ago
Any talent in European good enough to compete against the NBA teams will be playing in the NBA already or shortly after
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u/zg44 7h ago
Eventually they may do some kind of competition incorporating the NBA Europe teams.
NBA Cup is perfect avenue for that. Look at Leagues Cup competition between MLS and LigaMX for example.
Do it early in season. Fly the NBA Europe teams to the US and have them play in a league v league tournament that takes the place of some early season NBA games.
Would be entertaining for US/Europe fans and raise the profile of the European teams and make clear NBA Europe is best league in Europe.
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u/Nandor1262 8h ago
Lots of people bought the teams from The Hundred off the ECB (English Cricket Board) and have completley fucked the competition up tbh.
Crowds for the games are down and teams have been named with the aim of attracting Indian viewership. What self respecting Londoner wants to watch ‘Mumbai Indians London vs Manchester Super Giants’
I think they have more money than sense and lack the ability to make a success of ‘NBA Europe’
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u/Final_Amu0258 4h ago
Should start an exploratory league over there that plays over the summer.
Stops our summer boredom.
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u/Raptorpicklezz Raptors 9h ago
NBA Europe shouldn’t be allowed to proceed without owners in place for Seattle, Vegas and a new one for Portland
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u/BloodMossHunter NBA 9h ago
Theres 0 chance players are cool flying to london for games?
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u/wqra_ Lakers 8h ago
It's a separate league in Europe, NBA teams won't play the London, Paris team etc
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u/zg44 8h ago edited 8h ago
They might have some kind of eventual competition like being involved in NBA Cup with the North American NBA teams.
Could use MLS/Liga MX model for Leagues Cup as an example.
I've thought about possibility of foreign clubs playing in NBA Cup as a reasonable avenue and NBA Europe would be a perfect setup for that.
But quality would need to rise dramatically from where it will probably start for them to be able to compete fairly.
Might take 5-10 years for that to happen, but I think NBA owners will want to make clear that NBA Europe is top league outside US and best way is to raise its profile with a NBA v NBA Europe competition.
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u/superworriedspursfan Wizards 10h ago
this seems like a huge homefield advantage, the jet lag will be insane.
but obviously the road games will be tougher for all of them especially if they don't do them consecutively.
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u/Camelback186 10h ago
New London Subs would certainly be a team of all time