NBA Europe: John Amaechi insists UK will have chance to create 'basketball communities' within new league
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Tuesday 10 February 2026 12:53, UK
John Amaechi believes that NBA Europe has the power to deliver long-standing change for British basketball which can inspire the next generation to take up the sport.
The NBA is looking at London and Manchester as potential venues following its announcement in December that it is setting up a new "professional, pan-European men's basketball league" with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) - which could be set to begin as early as next year.
For Amaechi, who played almost 300 games in the NBA for the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz, it spells the beginning of an important new chapter for basketball in this country.
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British basketball has endured a tumultuous time in the past few years, beginning with major investment by 777 Partners into the London Lions and the British Basketball League, as it was then - but ended with legal disputes and the dissolution of the British Basketball Federation.
"I have a feeling things are going to change," said Amaechi, reflecting on the NBA's involvement in setting up a European league.
"The access, the training, the coaching standards, all of that is really important.
"I would see the NBA Europe thing as... an opportunity where less opportunity exists. I think there is a real chance here to create teams around which entire communities of basketball can grow. Maybe other countries don't need that as well as we do, but we need that, and I think every country will benefit."
Amaechi believes he knows where the issues lie for the sport in this country, and the key things that can be tackled by virtue of the NBA committing to the European expansion.
"It is the pathways. It is the cost of access to the sport," said Amaechi, when asked what he believed the biggest barrier is for players in this country.
"We can have more of those opportunities for people to have careers and lives enriched by this game, and not just through playing it, but through the business of sport that will happen around it. That's what I think it is.
"It's going to happen by respecting what's amazing about what happens in Europe, and building the governance, the framework, the rigour that the NBA has and the commercial acumen, but making sure that it stays at its heart European."
Super League Basketball - the league set up in the wake of the BBL having its licence terminated and collapsing in 2024 - has operated with many of the same clubs and names.
The defunct Manchester Giants and Surrey Scorchers were reborn as Manchester Basketball and Surrey 89ers. Otherwise, more than half of those clubs have the same ownership as they did when operating within the previous league structure - with only London, following the collapse of 777 Partners, and Sheffield after the BBL's licence termination, joining Manchester and Surrey in changing hands in recent years.
SLB chief insists UK league committed to tackling 'long-standing' challenges
In July 2025, Sanjay Bhandari MBE - who is also the chair of anti-racism organisation Kick It Out - was appointed as Interim Independent Chair of SLB.
"Basketball in this country has faced long-standing structural challenges," said Bhandari, in a statement provided to Sky Sports. "As a relatively recent newcomer to the governance of the sport, it is clear to me that recent events present an opportunity for us to rebuild trust, strengthen relationships, and reaffirm the shared values that unite us.
"The BBF [British Basketball Federation] was not fit for purpose and collapsed into insolvent liquidation. The sport must take this opportunity to have an honest reckoning of the causes of that collapse and establish a lean future structure that facilitates the effective development and growth that the sport deserves.
"SLB is participating actively, professionally and honestly in that dialogue with peer organisations and government. It is a process that must be rigorously evidence-led and ruthlessly outcome-focused."
"The truth is that a commercially thriving domestic league is central to a sustainable future for basketball, as indeed it is for any sport," Bhandari added.
"Over the last few years, the majority of SLB clubs have seen new ownership, leadership and expertise. We have invested in players, academies, much-needed arenas and the commercial model, and we are continuing to support the national teams with significant financial and other resources. We know there is much more work to be done for the game as a whole to realise its potential and we look forward to playing our part in that positively and constructively."
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