A franchise in Europe? This is probably the dream of many fans on the old continent. However, Commissioner Adam Silver excludes this for the time being and instead brings Mexico City into conversation.
In a conversation with the New York Times, Silver explained the NFL’s advantages for a team in Europe and why it is currently unrealistic for the NBA:”If you play only once a week, you can also postpone a bye week to counteract the tiring journeys,”said Silver.
In the NFL, the teams only play 16 games, whereas in the NBA 82 games,”As long as we don’t prolong our season enormously, a team in Europe would cost us too many days in the game plan,”Silver went on to add another location at the same time.”Mexico City is a completely different option for us.”
The Mexican capital, with more than 20 million inhabitants, is an interesting market for the NBA, partly because there are already many Mexicans in the USA who are interested in the league. However, expansion seems to be impossible in the short term, which is why the option of a G-League team in Mexico City seems to be more realistic at first.