""We're the fastest-growing sport right now in this country," Silver said. "There's, in essence, a golden era, I would say, of the sport. ... The 1936 Olympics here in Berlin, that's when basketball was first introduced into the Olympic movement. In fact, James Naismith came here to Berlin for those games and purportedly tossed up the ball for the opening tip of the Games. So, there is that long history here.""
""I would just say we continue to be enormously excited about it," Silver said about the notion of an NBA Europe. "We've been meeting with clubs t"
The NBA and FIBA are pressing forward with plans to establish an NBA Europe league. Plans include exploring a 16-team format with 12 permanent spots and four qualifying berths and a working start target of October 2027. Germany currently holds the World Cup and EuroBasket titles and is experiencing rapid basketball growth, supported by historical roots tracing to the 1936 Olympics when James Naismith attended. The influence of European stars such as Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Dirk Nowitzki underscores the continent's impact on the global game. Final team commitments and timelines remain unresolved as meetings with clubs continue.
Read at ESPN.com
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