“Independent League in Europe”: Adam Silver Answers Shaquille O’Neal’s Inquiry About Adding More International Teams

America has always been the hub of basketball. It’s the birthplace of the sport and the home of the NBA, which is of course the top league in the world. In the past few decades though, the game of basketball has grown on a global scale, to the point that many of the game’s best players hail from places other than the States. NBA commissioner Adam Silver appeared on The Big Podcast with Shaq on Wednesday to discuss basketball’s growing international appeal and influence.

He and the 4x champion discussed the possible expansion of the league beyond just the U.S. and Canada. Shaq mentioned how the NBA will be welcoming two new expansion franchises in the next few years, and then asked Silver if there was any thought being given to expanding into European cities in the future.

Silver touted basketball’s increasing global popularity as a reason that someday the NBA could reach across the Atlantic, and though he stressed that we’re not at that point yet, he did share some interesting details on what the first steps of European expansion could look like.

“One of the things we’ve been discussing is whether before we add NBA franchises in Europe, whether there’s an opportunity to do some sort of independent league in Europe, taking advantage of the enormous interest in the game in these great European capitals like Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid — other major cities in Europe that love basketball.”

Silver talked about how the NBA would love to do more than play just a couple of games in Europe each season. But the realities of air travel combined with the demands of the NBA schedule that see teams play more than three times a week, don’t currently make it possible.

The league has its eye on Mexico

Silver did say that although European expansion may not be possible until a date far in the future, he absolutely sees it as a possibility.

“One day, maybe it’ll be my successor, but I can definitely see a division of NBA teams in Europe, and I think it would be an incredible thing for the game.”

He did however note that many of the barriers that currently prevent European expansion from being a realistic possibility don’t exist for a place like Mexico City, which he correctly pointed out is actually closer to New York than Los Angeles is.

“Mexico City is a market that we’ve been playing regular season games and not just preseason games for a long time. I think that’s potentially doable … there are other issues involved, it’s not about to happen overnight, but I think that’s a real opportunity.”

Mexico City is a place that Silver has mentioned before as being a possible site of NBA expansion. The capital city has hosted 30 NBA games over the years, including the most recent matchup that saw the Heat beat the Wizards in November. It’s also the home of the Mexico City Capitanes, a G League team that debuted in 2021 and has been very successful.

International expansion may not be imminent, but it’s clear that Adam Silver has made it a priority to extend the NBA’s reach around the world. That forward-thinking philosophy has already paid off with players like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic becoming household names, and one day it could even result in teams calling international cities home.