The NBA has been eyeing London as a permanent hosting location for a while now. The hope would be for the English capital to host a few regular-season games in the 2025-26 season. The relationship has been prosperous for both parties as the NBA gets to expand its international reach and appeal, while London gets to host one of the biggest(and most profitable) spectator sports in the world. The British have taken their sweet time to embrace the sport of basketball, but there is evidence that the sport is growing in England and further abroad.
Can England serve as a landing ground for the international NBA expansion?
London has hosted a few pre-season friendlies in the past, but never a regular-season game. That might be changing soon. The NBA has big plans to expand the international appeal of the sport of basketball and sees the British island as an untapped market worth exploring further. Evidence that the sport is growing in England has been on display in the Eastern Conference Finals with British-born OG Anunoby playing for the Knicks.
The American sports that the world has been forced to watch from a distance are making their way outside the United States. The NFL has an international calendar that features multiple countries hosting regular-season games. And the NBA is keen to jump on board that boat. The obvious choice for international hosting of regular games would be England.
The Mayor of London has been pushing for the sport to make its way back to the capital. While London has some history with the NBA, another British city with a rich sporting culture has a chance at hosting too: Manchester. Manchester has a brand new stadium that will impress the biggest and best in the sports world, regardless of the sport.
Will London become the European home of the NBA?
Manchester could be a viable location for a regular-season NBA game, but the reality would be more likely that, instead of exploring a new location to host, the NBA might opt for a city with which they are more familiar. They already have a fan base in London, so ticket sales would not be an issue. NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum made statements regarding the English experiment.
Tatum said, amongst other things, that he had met with the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Mayor has been pushing the NBA to make a return to a city that hosted them on multiple occasions in the past. A proven track record is hard to argue with. The NBA has shown interest in Europe as it considers Europe an untapped market to expand the sport.
Tatum went on to say, “Basketball is the fastest growing sport in the UK, the country’s second most popular team sport.” He praised the new stadium in Manchester, however, when, yes when, the NBA does expand the regular season games into Europe, we can not see London being at least a partial home in Europe and a platform to expand the sport even further into the rest of the world.
Is there a future for the NBA and basketball in London and further abroad?
There is evidence to support the idea that basketball is growing in Europe. There have been a multitude of international players winning MVP awards. We challenge you to name the last American MVP(James Harden). The talent coming out of Europe is dominating the NBA. Luka Doncic is a prime example. The Finals are promising to show some more international talent with Canadian-born regular season MVP winner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in action. London would serve as the best city for the NBA to launch an international expansion. Let’s hope that happens this season.
