At a speech during the Football Business Forum held this morning at Bocconi University in Milan, Aivazoglou announced that NBA Europe will start in October 2027 with 12 permanent teams.

“We will launch in October 2027,” said Giorgos Aivazoglou, sharing new details about the establishment of the NBA championship in Europe.

“Milan hosts some of the world’s most famous brands. There are two major football clubs and a renowned basketball team, Armani Milano, so Milan is definitely on our list of cities for the league. We are currently in discussions with the city’s ecosystem to determine the identity of the club and the stadium,” he emphasized.

He added: “We are talking to some existing basketball teams. Additionally, we are in talks with football clubs that have strong commercial brands but no basketball teams, discussions happening in this country and city as well. In some places, we will be starting from scratch.”

Aivazoglou confirmed that NBA Europe will feature a semi-open formula with 16 teams: 12 permanent teams plus 4 based on performance. One of these will come from the Basketball Champions League organized by FIBA, which is a partner, and the other three from domestic leagues. “This is the most exciting part because it allows everyone to have ambitions.”

For the first time, he listed the cities hosting the 12 permanent teams besides Milan and Rome: London and Manchester (UK), Paris and Lyon (France), Madrid and Barcelona (Spain), Berlin and Munich (Germany), and one team each from Athens and Istanbul.

Looking ahead, there is a hint at future developments such as a new competition involving teams from both NBA and NBA Europe, possibly an NBA Cup featuring American and European teams, or a tournament similar to FIFA’s Club World Cup held last summer.