If the NBA sets a goal, it will achieve it. If the NBA has decided that, in its NBA Europe project, they want Milan and Roma as boxes to represent Italy, then they will have them. In the capital, everything is still in the embryonic stage, while on the Milan side, the rumors are heating up. On the day in Milan when the presidents of Milan and Inter, Paolo Scaroni and Giuseppe Marotta, spoke and prepared the first derby as co-owners of the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in San Siro, in New York, the deputy commissioner of the NBA stimulated curiosity.
Mark Tatum, speaking at Sports Business Journal’s Dealmakers conference, confirmed the basic line of the NBA Europe project: “It will be like the Champions League, but about basketball. So brands like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan play basketball: it’s quite interesting”, explaining that: “Nothing is certain yet. We are talking to a lot of potential investors. This is a sample of potential participants. The mix will be a set of teams that exist at the highest level of Europe, a reference to current football clubs without a basketball team and other teams born from it early”.
This is the first time, publicly, an NBA manager has mentioned the Rossoneri’s name as a possible Italian franchise, thus confirming the rumors of the last few weeks that see the properties of Milan (RedBird, with Gerry Cardinale having had the opportunity to communicate with Commissioner Adam Silver) and also Inter (Brookfield) actively involved in this ambitious, revolutionary but still vague project.
And Olimpia Milano? EA7 was never mentioned, but is in NBA discussions, given that EA7 is one of the founding clubs of the Euroleague (A License) and has a signed contract with IMG (commercial partner) until 2035-36, with an opt-out clause.
Everything is still in progress: 2027 is indicated as the year of the inauguration of the new League, but in June 2026 there will already be a clearer scenario. The NBA wants Milan and will have him; if Olimpia remains tied to the Euroleague, then what is now a rumor could become a reality, with Milan and Inter increasingly dominant under Madonnina.
