The NBA's arrival in Italy: coordinates and scenarios We know when, in 2027, and where, Milan and Rome: let's try to imagine everything else
The NBA has never been shy — in fact, it has been very open — about sharing its plans in Europe. However, while until 2024 it kept a certain caution in public statements as it defined the coordinates and foundations of the campaign, in recent months there has been a clear escalation both organizationally and in communications. It started with Commissioner Adam Silver's comments in January, on the occasion of the NBA Paris Game 2025, when rumors turned into a first rendering; and it arrives at the updates in the past few days from Mark Tatum and George Aivazoglou, respectively Deputy Commissioner and Managing Director for Europe and the Middle East, who have put chronological, geographic and logistical pieces of the expansion down in writing. Leaving less and less to the imagination of the public in the Old Continent.
Mark Tatum spoke at a virtual press conference convened to discuss the subject with about sixty international media in attendance. George Aivazoglou's remarks instead took place during last week's Football Business Forum at Università Bocconi in Milan: a setting that foreshadowed what would come out of his words, namely the involvement of our basketball world in this new venture, now certain. Of the twelve permanent teams that will make up the first edition of the tournament — to which four variable teams will be added each season — a couple should in fact be Italian, based in Milan and Rome.
Given the space, the where is not surprising. The two most interesting markets for Adam Silver and company, both sporting and commercial. On the who and how, however, there is still a long way to go, with the NBA indicating that it has several bids and options on the table, ranging from already high-level entities to others — literally — to revitalize or create from scratch. Perhaps convincing big football clubs like Inter and AC Milan, whose owners seem attracted to the project. In line with what has already been planned, among others, in Manchester and London. In Italy the game is still being played and there is still room for imagination, as well as enormous curiosity.
The coordinates
The project's progress, after Mark Tatum's press conference, for the first time has a precise timeline: 2027. A year earlier than most observers had expected until a few weeks ago. It will start with a semi-open format of sixteen teams, with twelve permanent licenses and four granted based on sporting results: one from the FIBA Basketball Champions League and three from national leagues. And it will be only the beginning of the plan, both continentally and beyond. The league's launch, according to Aivazoglou himself, will open new meeting scenarios between American and European basketball: perhaps "a competition like the NBA Cup with both American and European teams", or a "world club tournament like FIFA's last summer". There will be time for all of that; for now there's a train to set on the tracks and a journey to begin.
The stops have been revealed more or less definitively. "We are thinking of London and Manchester for the United Kingdom, Paris and Lyon for France, Madrid and Barcelona for Spain, Milan and Rome for Italy, Berlin and Munich for Germany, plus one in Athens and one in Istanbul". All with invitations to "entities of three types: existing basketball teams, football brands that already have a large fanbase, and a few limited cases where we'll start from scratch". In the Italian landscape "the most interesting conversations we've had" are of the first and second type for Milan, while for Rome the range is wider.
"We definitely want a team in Milan. The city's brand is one of the most important in the world, with two great football clubs and one basketball club. In short, we cannot ignore Milan when we think about the cities we want to include, and there are conversations underway with the local ecosystem to understand how the club and the arena might be. In Rome, on the other hand, in recent years there has not been a team, but there is tradition and a fan base: we can imagine revitalizing some historic entity, or creating a new one". While waiting for news, expected in the coming (few) months, now is the time to fantasize.
Milan: one place for three?
Milan, as anticipated, already offers several paths. Here it is plausible that the NBA will not build from scratch, but will close an agreement with local stakeholders — candidates are not lacking — to have its reference franchise. The first option, inevitably, is Olimpia Milano: a solid basketball club with a long and rich history, a consolidated fanbase, and a brand like Armani that shaped its identity for twenty years, representing a possible bridge between the NBA and the fashion world.
The potential entry into this European league would be a symbolic watershed for Olimpia in the post-Giorgio Armani era, but it would fit into a cultural shift underway for about a decade, with the transformation of the Forum into an environment much more similar to NBA arenas than to old continental indoor arenas. Speaking of venues: Olimpia plays at the current Unipol Forum in Assago, which has a capacity of about 12,700 and in the past hosted the NBA Global Games twice, in 2010 and 2015. As it is not a particularly cutting-edge facility, however, the arena dossier would still be an issue, whether through renovation (more likely) or building a new venue from scratch.
The second track instead leads to the city's two football giants, AC Milan and Inter. Both have American owners, RedBird and Oaktree, and share a managerial language that has become increasingly international over the last decade. In 2022, moreover, the Main Street Advisors fund, which also includes LeBron James, entered Milan's ownership. These are all clues of cultural compatibility with the project, strengthened by openness to new sporting lines — such as under-23 teams, for example — and confirmed by rumors in recent weeks that Inter and Milan have already sent their resumes to New York.
There might even be a third path. Less intuitive but not impossible: a possible joint bid by the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri. A bit like what has been seen with the stadium project, in this scenario Inter and Milan could join forces in an unprecedented co-multi-sports model, offering the NBA the opportunity to tap into two large user bases. For the Italian public it would be an anomaly, and for many probably sacrilegious, but in such an unprecedented, high-exposure operation the exception might hold. In short, Milan is not a leap into the void — quite the opposite. It's rather a contest among three strong local players to convince the NBA with the most credible and robust project in the immediate term, and with the greatest room for future growth.
Rome: possible scenarios
In Rome, instead, the scenario is more uncertain and leaves the door open to different hypotheses. The capital offers interesting margins but less ready foundations. If the NBA wanted to tap into the local basketball system, the question would be who to revitalize, not simply who to hook up with. The historic Virtus recently restarted as Virtus Roma 1960 and currently competes in Serie B: signs of a revival, yes, but far from a standard immediately usable for an NBA-branded tournament.
Alternatively there is Stella Azzurra, which brings an interesting identity heritage but is an even less turnkey option. Not to forget, in any case, the arena issue. The Palazzo dello Sport in the EUR (the former PalaLottomatica) seats more than 11,000 and has already hosted NBA events (Raptors Europe Live 2007), but it requires a deep upgrade to align with the required standards. The alternative is a new facility, with all the difficulties that such a project brings in the Roman context.
As for the choice of club, here too football can offer support. AS Roma has an American owner in the form of the Friedkin Group and is a globally recognised brand. However, so far, there have been no rumours about possible dialogue with Adam Silver and his team. Whether there is mutual interest in such a project remains to be verified. If a new franchise were to be established in Italy, Rome would certainly be the most logical location: there are fewer historical constraints than in Milan, there is more space to develop an identity, and it is the market of the country's largest city by population. Top-level basketball has been absent from Rome for years, but demand has never completely disappeared. It is a market that is currently underdeveloped and still to be conquered — exactly what the NBA emissaries are looking for on the continent.
It may sound like we're talking about absurd and unattainable scenarios, but if everything goes smoothly, we will see Milan and Rome face off in an NBA match in less than twenty-four months. Choose the team names, logos and jersey colours, as well as the playing surface: can you imagine this new Derby d'Italia? Although it still seems like a fantasy, all you need is a bit of patience to watch it unfold. The NBA is serious and has now started a race against time of its own volition.
