BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
The NBA could have its eyes set overseas for a playoff expansion.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suggested having a separate NBA Europe League could work even in a playoff scenario.
“You could imagine teams from Europe, potentially Africa, competing in that tournament,” Silver said. “You possibly could see teams coming into our playoffs, top seeds from other leagues. But over time, I think, for example, certainly in Europe as plane travel gets faster… I’m reading all the time about more opportunities in aviation. When I think of the flight from New York to LA for example, there’s no reason if we had four teams in Europe, you couldn’t travel, play the Knicks or Nets, travel to London, play three, four times in Europe, come back home. So I think it’s very doable in our league.”
The NBA has become increasingly interested in expanding as a global brand in one way or another. Europe specifically has been a close point of contention amongst the NBA and even its potential competitors.
Lebron James and Maverick Carter have expressed interest in developing a new league that would serve as competition to the NBA based in Europe, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Regardless of who gets there first, it appears that the future of basketball might be overseas.
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