The NBA plans to “harness European soccer culture” for the new Europa League

NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he wants to “appeal” to European soccer culture as part of plans for a proposed European basketball league.

Silver says he has spoken to Manchester City and Manchester United, although BBC Sport understands neither intends to have a team if the deal goes ahead.

With the current working title NBA Europe, the plan is to launch a permanent continent-wide league that could begin as early as the 2027-28 season.

As many as 16 teams across the continent could be involved, with teams from London and Manchester expected to take part.

The league is expected to be composed of new franchises, current basketball teams, and soccer clubs that have and currently do not have affiliated basketball teams.

“We’re talking to everyone and that’s part of why this process has taken so long,” Silver told BBC Sport.

“I started speaking publicly around the Paris Olympics and we wanted to make sure we covered everything. We talked to all the stakeholders, we cover all the areas and all the possibilities.”

Srebrni also confirmed that he has spoken to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain as he wants to mix established European teams with new ones.

However, reports say the existing EuroLeague – which includes Real and Barcelona – has concerns about the new venture, threatening legal action against the NBA if the clubs breach existing agreements to participate in the new competition.

But Silver, speaking ahead of the NBA’s first regular-season game of 2019 in London on Sunday, believes the already strong support from soccer clubs could play a major role in growing the game across Europe.

“I want to be careful (of) those traditions,” he said.

“That culture is so special, so unique, so long held, I don’t want to fool myself or anyone else potentially involved in this new league that they can be easily transferred.”

“At the same time, we want the benefits of that incredible wisdom and knowledge gained over decades of work.”

“As an American, I see that religious fervor around people’s soccer clubs here, and we could be happy to take advantage of that. It’s more unique here. For me, that’s an opportunity.”

“We’re not coming into the market thinking we’re going to take away from soccer. What we see is a huge opportunity and an entertainment ecosystem, and we see people around the world turning to premium live sports.”