Luka Doncic is going global-literally. The Lakers star is part of an investor group, led by former Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson, that has reached a preliminary agreement to purchase Italian basketball club Vanoli Basket Cremona.
But this move isn’t just about owning a team overseas. It’s part of a much bigger play: positioning the club to join the NBA’s ambitious new European league.
Vanoli Basket currently competes in Italy’s top-tier league, Lega Basket Serie A, and is based in Cremona, a city in northern Italy. But the long-term vision for Nelson’s group is to relocate the franchise to Rome.
Why Rome? Because the NBA has its sights set on the Italian capital as one of the cornerstone cities for NBA Europe-a new league scheduled to launch in the fall of 2027.
Here’s what we know: To be part of NBA Europe, a team must also participate in its country’s domestic league. Vanoli checks that box as a Serie A license holder, which gives it a leg up. And with Rome currently lacking a top-division basketball team, it’s a prime candidate for a franchise relocation and a fresh start in a major European market.
Rome isn’t the only city on the NBA’s radar. Commissioner Adam Silver is reportedly eyeing a dozen cities across the continent as potential homes for NBA Europe teams.
That list includes Milan, London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Munich, Athens, and Istanbul. The goal is to create a 12-team league that blends NBA-level branding and competition with the rich local basketball cultures of Europe.
Doncic’s exact ownership stake in Vanoli Basket hasn’t been disclosed yet, and there’s still some gray area when it comes to NBA players investing in international teams. The league’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement does limit how much an active NBA player can own of a WNBA franchise, but those rules haven’t yet been extended to NBA Europe-at least not officially. That could change as the league framework gets finalized.
Doncic isn’t alone in this cross-continental investment wave. Rockets forward Kevin Durant already holds a minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain’s soccer club, which is expected to launch a basketball team for NBA Europe. And Tony Parker, the former Spurs star, owns ASVEL Basket near Lyon-a club that’s also likely to be part of the European expansion.
While the NBA is still ironing out the legal and financial structure of its European league, one rule is already in place: NBA team owners won’t be allowed to own more than 5% of an NBA Europe franchise. That’s designed to prevent conflicts of interest, since NBA owners will already be stakeholders in the European league itself. It’s a move aimed at keeping the competitive and financial ecosystems of the two leagues cleanly separated.
There were some early reports out of Italy suggesting Dirk Nowitzki might also be part of Nelson’s ownership group, but a spokesperson for the Mavericks legend has since denied that claim.
Bottom line: this isn’t just a business deal-it’s a signal. The NBA’s European expansion is no longer just a concept; it’s in motion.
And with stars like Doncic and Durant getting involved on the ownership side, the league is laying down serious roots across the Atlantic. Keep an eye on Rome-it might just become one of the NBA’s newest homes.