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NBA NBA Europe managing director George Aivazoglou disclosed details of the upcoming league at a conference in Milan Friday. Noushad Thekkayil / Nur Photo via Getty Images The NBA is formally targeting an October 2027 launch date for its new European League and its list of preferred team cities in the new venture include London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens, and Istanbul. Speaking at a Football Business Forum in Milan hosted by Gazzetta dello Sport  on Friday, George Aivazoglou, managing director for the NBA’s European and Middle East offices, cited those cities as well as Manchester (U. K. ) and Lyon (France) as targeted locations for permanent members of commissioner Adam Silver’s league, which Aivazoglou said is headed toward a tip off in about 23 months, though October 2027 is not yet finalized. Advertisement Aivazoglou also said the new league — we’ll see if it is going to be called NBA Europe — would be a 16-team league with the last four teams competing via play-in, either through FIBA’s Champions League or a domestic league. And finally, Aivazoglou suggested the NBA’s European teams would likely play against the big boys, the NBA, in a tournament. “It would be a new competition bringing together NBA and NBA Europe teams — down the line, an NBA Cup format with American and European teams, or a tournament like last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup — as part of an increasingly integrated framework, ” Aivazoglou said at the conference, according to the audio of his remarks obtained by The Athletic. GO DEEPER Where the NBA stands on expanding its footprint in Europe Aivazoglou said the NBA hired two banks — JP Morgan Case, and the Raine Group — to help identify potential investors. He said those conversations have largely been with sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms, as well as with some wealthy families. He said an announcement on European league investors is expected soon. Aivazoglou believes Europe has a $50 billion market for sports, and basketball leagues currently make “less than 0. 5 percent of that. ” What the NBA’s plans and its timeline mean for the survival of the Euro League remains to be seen. Of the 20 teams currently playing in Euro League, eight play in cities on the NBA’s list, which means some historic franchises could be left out of NBA Europe, though they could, if they wanted to, play their way in through FIBA or through their domestic league. Though there were no confirmations yet on who will own the teams, existing European basketball powerhouses — or otherwise established programs — in Madrid (Real Madrid), Barcelona (Barca), Berlin (Alba), Munich (Bayern) and Lyon (ASVEL Basket, where former San Antonio superstar Tony Parker is team president) are all expected to the NBA’s league, two European basketball sources said. Advertisement Of those clubs, Real Madrid, Barca Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and ASVEL are currently in the Euro League. Alba Berlin was a Euro League team last season. “In as in ‘designated’ for it, ” one official from an existing Euro League team told The Athletic. “It’s still too early to be in as in ‘it’s all set’ for any team. ” In Paris, a Euro League team exists, run by former NBA team executive David Kahn, but the NBA is seeking a partnership with Qatari authorities who own soccer giant Paris Saint-Germain, according to a source close to PSG. Paris Basket plays in the French national league and the Euro League, and has home games at both of the city’s large basketball arenas. The NBA has a similar decision to make in Milan, where a basketball team exists, and two deep-pocketed soccer clubs that could be interested in starting a basketball program for Silver’s venture. “We will have teams in three categories, ” Aivazoglou said. “First, we’re talking with some existing basketball teams. Second, we’re talking with football teams that have a strong brand, and therefore a large fan base, but don’t have a basketball team: many of the most interesting conversations we’re having in this country and in this city are of this nature. And there are situations, in very limited cases, where we’ll start from scratch. ” For instance, there is currently no top-level pro team playing in Rome. In the United Kingdom, Manchester City’s multi-billion-dollar soccer franchise is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan through the Abu Dhabi United Group out of the United Arab Emirates. The chairman of Manchester City is another Emirate, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, whose brother, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, runs the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism. The Al Mubarak family has expressed interest in NBA ownership, though sovereign wealth funds currently cannot own more than 20 percent of any NBA franchise. The London Lions nearly folded in 2024 but the franchise was rescued by Lithuanian tech company Tessonet. Advertisement There are currently two teams from Istanbul, and two in or near Athens, playing in the Euro League. The NBA European league, like the Euro League, would be an abbreviated competition compared to what Americans are used to in the NBA. Instead of a single, 82-game schedule, European teams play in their own domestic leagues, and depending on their success rate and preferences, can also play in the Euro League, or FIBA’s Champions League, or another, lower-level international league (much like European football). The NBA is hosting two regular-season games in two of its targeted European cities in January — featuring the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies — in Berlin and London. FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, is the NBA’s partner on Silver’s new league. Silver has also suggested, on multiple occasions, he views his European league as a form of expansion, which could take the place of, or delay, expansion from the current 30-team structure in the NBA. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Joe Vardon is a senior NBA writer for The Athletic, based in Cleveland. Follow Joe on Twitter @joevardon