NBA commissioner Adam Silver has outlined his ambition to have four franchises in the league based in Europe.
The NBA is playing its fifth overseas game at the O2 Arena as the Milwaukee Bucks are facing off against the New York Knicks in the Global Games series, and Silver has admitted that he would like to see the league expand to have four teams playing in Europe.
However, he has also admitted that his sport is behind the NFL in their timeframe for doing so, as the NFL plans to have a franchise based in London by 2021.
"My sense is that the NFL is a little bit ahead of us in terms of their timeline for having a franchise based in London," Silver told reporters.
"There are some aspects of their schedule that make it easier – they play once a week, they have fewer games.
"It will be easier logistically for them to pull it off. It would be difficult for us to have one team in Europe. We'd have to put both feet down. That would mean having four franchises in Europe."
The NFL currently stages three matches a season in the UK.
Simon Sinclair
