London Lions look set to be rejected in their bid to join EuroLeague basketball as the competition considers a merger with the NBA.

The Lions were among more than a dozen teams from across the continent who applied to become EuroLeague expansion franchises, with the number of teams due to increase from 20 to 24 next year and to 28 in 2030.

But they are set to miss out, with Valencia Basket, Paris Basketball, Dubai Basketball, Maxima Roma, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Greek outfit PAOK BC understood to have been selected for permanent franchises.

London Lions have also been overlooked for one of four three-year wild card spots ahead of the second expansion phase in 2030. Virtus Bologna, Napoli Basket and Serbian sides Partizan Belgrade and Crvena Zvezda are due to take those spots, putting them in pole position to become full members in four years’ time.

The selections are not official yet as they still need to be ratified by the EuroLeague board, but that is expected to happen before the end of the year.

London Lions bosses insist that joining in 2030 was always their target, by which time their plans for a purpose-built 15,000-seat arena may have come to fruition.

“The London Lions continues to strive towards its goal of being London’s first team in the EuroLeague from 2030,” CEO Lenz Balan told City AM. 

“Building an elite performance structure, developing our facilities and a gold standard of basketball in the UK remain central to our long-term plans, and thanks to our strong working relationship we are in an ongoing consultation with EuroLeague.

“We look forward to continuing our work with them to grow basketball in London, the UK and across Europe.”

London Lions, EuroLeague and NBA

The delay in rubber-stamping the EuroLeague’s new teams affords extra time for an agreement to be reached over a collaboration between EuroLeague and the NBA, which has plans to launch its own competition in Europe in October 2027. 

Talks have been ongoing for more than a year without a resolution, with EuroLeague resisting all proposals put forward so far and the NBA confident it can lure some of the biggest clubs to defect from EuroLeague and insisting it will push on without a deal if necessary.

London is one of the key locations for a new team in NBA Europe and is said to have been the most sought-after among the institutional investors eyeing licences in the new competition, attracting bids of around $1bn.

A London team in NBA Europe could be further bad news for London Lions, who have recovered from falling into administration in 2024 to cement their place as the dominant team in British basketball.

They have made a strong start to their campaign in this season’s second-tier EuroCup, played a pre-season match in the US against NBA team Portland Trail Blazers, and have a new kit deal with Nike’s Jordan brand. 

Other bidders for EuroLeague expansion places who are set to be disappointed are Besiktas, Hapoel Jerusalem and Aris Thessanloniki. 

The bid from Aris is understood to have raised questions about team owner Richard Hsiao’s source of wealth. Hsiao says it comes from his mother’s independent fortune, but critics argue that her riches are linked to her husband, who was imprisoned in China for embezzlement.