Javier Tebas warns that a potential NBA expansion into Europe threatens the continent’s competitive balance and long-standing football ecosystem

In an increasingly globalised sports landscape, tension is rising between Europe’s traditional club-based competitions and the expanding ambitions of American sports leagues. This week, La Liga president Javier Tebas sharpened that debate by issuing one of his strongest warnings yet against the prospect of an “NBA Europe,” arguing that such a project would fundamentally undermine the European sports model that has governed competition for decades.

Speaking to reporters, Tebas stressed that Europe’s system—rooted in open competition, promotion and relegation, and independently run domestic leagues—stands in direct contrast to the closed-league franchise structure that defines major U.S. sports organizations. According to him, importing that model into Europe would distort competitive integrity not only in basketball, but across the broader sports ecosystem.

“The European model is built on merit and open pathways,” Tebas insisted. “A closed league operating alongside our domestic competitions would pull talent upward into a system without sporting fairness. It goes against the European sports model.” His comments reflect growing concern across football and basketball institutions as rumours of NBA interest in establishing permanent teams or a conference on European soil continue to circulate.

While the NBA has long cultivated its European fanbase through exhibition games, preseason matchups, and marketing partnerships with EuroLeague clubs, discussions around a deeper structural footprint have intensified. Industry analysts point to the league’s aggressive global push, expanding revenue streams, and increasing European player presence as indicators that a more formalized expansion could be on the horizon.

European sports executives, however, fear that such a move could destabilise continental competitions. Tebas argues that siphoning elite basketball talent into a franchise-driven structure would widen financial disparities, erode the role of national leagues, and create a two-tiered system that echoes the tensions football faced during the short-lived European Super League project.

“The precedent is clear,” said a senior official from a top Spanish basketball club, echoing Tebas’s concerns. “Whenever a closed competition backed by private investors enters the European market, it does so at the expense of historic clubs and local development. The issue is not the NBA’s quality—it’s the model.”

EuroLeague executives have similarly warned that an NBA presence could overshadow Europe’s existing basketball pyramid. Unlike football’s Super League proposal, which collapsed under public and political pressure, the NBA’s prestige and global branding could attract broad support, increasing anxiety among European administrators who fear being commercially and culturally outpaced.

Tebas emphasised that the matter extends beyond basketball. “Once you allow one closed league of foreign origin to take root, others will follow,” he argued. “It threatens the governance model that protects competitive balance across European sports.”

Some supporters of an NBA Europe counter that the project could enhance the sport’s visibility, attract investment, and elevate European basketball to new commercial heights. But critics respond that growth should come through strengthening existing institutions rather than replacing them with an imported structure.

For now, the NBA continues to remain tight-lipped about any formal expansion plans, framing its European activities as part of broader global engagement initiatives. Yet the strategic signals—expanded academies, more regular international events, and deepening commercial partnerships—suggest that the conversation is far from over.

As the debate intensifies, the clash between models raises fundamental questions about identity: whether Europe will maintain its long-standing tradition of open competition or edge closer to the franchise logic that dominates American sports. For Tebas, the answer is clear.

“We must defend the structure that has allowed European sport to thrive,” he said. “The future of our leagues depends on it.”