NBA Europe: Wagner’s Breakout & Future Growth

Basketball star Moritz Wagner hugged his family after the emotional NBA home win in Berlin. The world champion thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere in the sold-out hall, which gave him and his brother Franz unforgettable moments on their return. “I’m a German fan myself. I get goosebumps when I see that. And then I think that I’m part of it. That’s a huge emotional overload,” said the 28-year-old.

The Wagner brothers are now moving on to London with the big NBA entourage. For fans in their hometown of Berlin, similar basketball spectacles could soon become more common. At the first game of the season in Germany, Franz and Moritz Wagner were home heroes in the eye of the NBA storm in the capital.

“The attention we’re getting now, I don’t even know if it’s healthy. I’ll be happy if it goes down a bit now,” said Moritz Wagner.

The brothers from the Orlando Magic had to worry about their commitment for a long time, but in the end there was a big happy ending. The basketball legends Dirk Nowitzki and Detlef Schrempf as cheerers, the football greats Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Müller as fans on the sidelines.

Together with their team around national team colleague Tristan da Silva, the brothers managed to catch up against the Memphis Grizzlies. “It felt like a real home game,” said Franz Wagner. “I think I need a few weeks to reflect.”

For the NBA, it was also a test run for a project that league commissioner Adam Silver described before the game as “the real hard work.” The NBA wants to launch its own league in Europe in cooperation with the world association Fiba as early as October 2027.

Will Alba Berlin be part of NBA Europe?

In Berlin, Silver also left it open whether the German capital would get one of the permanent franchises in the league. What he said about Alba left little doubt that the club belongs to the closest circle of candidates. “They are the model of the kind of club we would like to see in a possible European league,” said Silver.

The 63-year-old also held talks with Marco Baldi and Axel Schweitzer from Alba in Berlin. The Berliners themselves leave little doubt about their ambitions. The second major German candidate, Bayern Munich, who is currently still playing in the Euroleague, is keeping a more private record in public.

How are the plans progressing?

This week the NBA begins intensive discussions with interested parties who want to field a team in the league. Investors, existing basketball teams and soccer teams “who are very interested in building a basketball program as part of NBA Europe” are on board, said George Aivazoglou, NBA general manager for Europe. According to reports, there will be news about the many details that are still open in the coming weeks.

The NBA is extremely optimistic and sees huge growth potential in Western Europe, especially in Germany. “We are the fastest growing sport in this country right now,” Silver said. “If I believed that the ceiling was the existing Euroleague and the interest of its fans, we would not invest so much time and attention in this project.”

Funding will initially come from the league’s member clubs. The NBA does not comment on rumored prices of up to one billion euros for a starting right. These would be unique investments in European basketball.

It still needs to be proven that a European premier class in basketball can be economically viable. The NBA wants to have staying power. “I think if we were to successfully launch this new league, it would take a while for it to be a viable commercial venture,” Silver said.

Does it lead to a conflict with the Euroleague?

The Euroleague is currently the top dog and certainly doesn’t want to give up this place. Silver initially moderated rumors about an impending legal dispute. “I’m sending the legal letters to my lawyers so they can take care of it,” he said, somewhat jokingly. “I by no means believe that conflict is inevitable.”

What do the German basketball stars say?

Nowitzki and Franz Wagner find the idea exciting, but hope that European basketball culture remains the focus. In an interview with the German Press Agency, Nowitzki emphasized that some places in the league should be awarded through sporting competition, unlike in the NBA and the Euroleague. “Our European sports culture is characterized by relegation and promotion,” said the 47-year-old, who was there in Berlin as a TV expert for Prime Video.

Wagner said: “The team culture and the fan culture we have in Europe are great.” The challenge is to maintain that and still let the sport grow. “It’s not always about the money, but we want people to see the game we all love,” said the 24-year-old.