NBA commissioner Adam Silver met with Actual Madrid leaders about potential membership in NBA Europe as he continues his quest to construct a league abroad, based on The Athletic. Together with deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and the league’s European and Center East director George Aivazoglou, Silver has been touring by Europe for conferences with attainable traders and groups this week.
Actual Madrid can be a pure goal for the NBA given its model energy, historical past of success and monetary assets. For Actual Madrid, NBA Europe might be interesting as a result of its present license with the EuroLeague expires in 2026. Its basketball crew has been round for 94 years with a long term of success with 38 Spanish Championship titles, 29 Spanish Cup wins and 11 EuroLeague championships. Amongst its most notable on-court merchandise is Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić.
Actual Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, has additionally explored relationships with different American leagues. His discussions with the NFL led to this yr’s recreation between the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders at Santiago Bernabéu, Actual Madrid’s soccer stadium.
Simply this week, the NBA introduced worldwide recreation areas for the 2026-28 seasons, with the Grizzlies and Magic confirmed to play in Berlin and London.
Perez hasn’t been afraid to be aggressive in different areas, both. On the pitch, his membership pursued and landed French star Kylian Mbappé. Pérez additionally spearheaded renovations to Santiago Bernabéu, which have attracted worldwide music superstars like Taylor Swift and Karol G.
These strikes have paid off in spades for Actual Madrid, which topped soccer’s incomes tree by a report quantity, based on Deloitte. In 2023-24, Actual Madrid raked in $1.13 billion, which topped the subsequent closest crew by greater than $200 million.
It is no surprise why Silver and the NBA would need to develop a partnership with a corporation that has such a observe report of success within the standings and on the steadiness sheet.
