PARIS — Before the first game between the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers on Thursday at the Accor Arena, the league scheduled its annual commissioner’s news conference, a tradition that allows for questions raised by American and international media members to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
The affair is fairly low-key, with questions often relating to the game at hand or the NBA’s presence in Europe.
For the most part, that was the case again this year. The notable exception, however, was Silver’s outright aggressive approach to European expansion, which he for years has eloquently danced around.
“While Europe continues to develop some of the very best players in the world — many of our most recent MVPs, of course, are European — we think that the commercial opportunity has not kept pace with the growth of the game,” Silver said.
“What we do at the NBA is we run leagues. We, of course, run the WNBA, we have the [Basketball Africa League], we have the G League, we have a 2K video league. So we operate five different leagues, and we think it’s an expertise we have. And so we are looking very closely to see if there’s an opportunity to professionalize the game to another level here to create a larger commercial opportunity.”
Silver’s openness and forthcoming transparency with the possibility of an NBA Europe league came at the perfect time given how the actual game played out, with the Spurs — France’s adopted team — winning 140-110 in an explosive display that brought a level of excitement worthy of a new international endeavor.
The Wemby Show
Europeans are well aware that 70% of the NBA is American, and as such, they take enormous pride when one from their respective country makes it to the biggest and most competitive basketball league in the world.
The reaction to Victor Wembanyama before the game was among the loudest and most enthusiastic this writer has ever witnessed in 17 years of covering the game.
The superstar was sensational, finishing with 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocks, prompting Spurs teammate Chris Paul to call the performance the most complete he’s seen from the 21-year-old Frenchman.
Wembanyama’s numbers weren’t collected quietly either as he posted thunderous dunks, long blocks, deep 3-pointers and an array of passing that would make Nikola Jokić proud.
No, not every team has a Wembanyama. But there’s no reason as to why an NBA league in Europe couldn’t develop stars who might prefer to play closer to home, especially if the financial compensation increases year over year.
The NBA runs a tight ship
Moving a regular-season game across the Atlantic Ocean isn’t easy. There are thousands upon thousands of additional working hours that have gone into the planning process, and once again the league made sure things ran smoothly, from fan engagement to media access.
The league’s involvement, as well as its commercial appeal, could help build strong basketball clubs across Europe, as long as they don’t end up in close proximity to Euroleague teams. But that’s a story for another day.
Silver’s point about the NBA being experts in building leagues isn’t wrong.
The challenge ahead, that being the European market, will mark the toughest one the league will have had to break into. But given the globalization of the sport, as well as the sheer number of players currently outside the NBA who are good enough to play in the league, the NBA should be able to acquire both elite talent and apply its lessons from previous launches.
Buzz, buzz and more buzz
It’s been impossible to avoid the marketing of the games here in Paris. During Wednesday’s Champions League match between PSG and Manchester City, an event that was followed by millions of people, the broadcast pivoted mid-play to show Wembanyama and the Spurs in attendance, which is highly irregular.
Wembanyama has reached the status of French royalty, which he’s handled like a seasoned vet.
The maturity of Wembanyama has reached a point where it functions as a skill. During the game after a turnover, Paul was in his ear, and every single inch of Wembanyama’s 7-foot-5 frame was deeply engaged in learning, absorbing and adjusting.
As the NBA is seeing first-hand, it’s easy to sell a player like him. If that gives the league certain ideas about future expansion and the market it’s currently exploring, who can blame it?
