New territory is being explored, new teams are being added, and new leagues are being created.
Basketball is on a bit of a fast break right now. New territory is being explored, new teams are being added, and new leagues are being created. Everything in the sport seems to be growing. Except for the players’ shorts. Those are smaller again.
Around the world
The American-born sport has especially taken off overseas. According to a Nielsen Sports survey conducted in 18 countries on behalf of FIBA, the world’s basketball governing body:
- Basketball is the world’s second-favorite sport, behind only soccer.
- Between 2019 and 2023, interest in the game among those surveyed grew from 68% to 74%.
When NBA teams took the court on last season’s opening night, the games featured 135 international players from 43 countries (and another planet, if there’s any truth to Victor Wembanyama’s “Alien” nickname). It’s no wonder the NBA has been trying to create a whole league overseas called NBA Europe, which, after some delay, is expected to launch in 2028, according to The Guardian.
Beyond the NBA
While the NBA is looking for growth overseas (and in Seattle and Vegas), there’s plenty more growth happening for the sport stateside outside the league.
The WNBA is growing, having just posted its best regular-season viewership since 2000, according to Sports Business Journal. And by 2030, the league said it will have 18 teams—six more than it had in 2024.
March Madness is expanding, too. Next year, college basketball plans to push the boundaries of printable brackets even further by cramming additional matchups into its men’s and women’s postseason tournaments, expanding the field from 68 to 76 teams. Pretty soon, we won’t need a regular season at all.
In another league: Upstart basketball leagues have been popping up in recent years, too. Rapper/actor Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, BIG3, launched in 2017, and has reportedly drawn enough of an audience to be valued at around $290 million. And last month, Unrivaled, a three-on-three women’s league, raised funds at a $650 million valuation—almost double what it was a year ago.—BC