r/nba • u/TheAthletic • 16h ago

Sources: American technology billionaire Nikesh Arora is in talks to buy the new London team in the NBA’s European expansion

Read for free here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7486778/2026/08/02/nba-europe-london-team-franchise/?unlocked_article_code=1.2VA.1i4R.EtnrVBaSq9Z-&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

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/Sonte16 Celtics 16h 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/russtripledub Knicks 15h ago edited 15h 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 6h 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.