The NBA has spent the last few years quietly plotting the launch of a European league. In late 2025, the league and FIBA confirmed they were pursuing a joint venture to launch NBA Europe.
Now, months later, that expansion project has collided with English soccer most unexpectedly, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver is taking the heat for it.
Sports World Reacts as Premier League Club Joins NBA Europe Bidding War
At the center of the news is the race to own NBA Europe’s London franchise, a team reportedly valued at north of $1 billion.
Among the bidders is the family trust that controls Tottenham Hotspur. The Lewis family, through ENIC, has reportedly teamed up with the Checketts family (veterans of MLS and NHL ownership) and the Eccles family of Utah, known for their work on the 2002 and upcoming 2034 Winter Olympics, to chase the franchise.
What has really set social media alight, though, is who else wants it. Daniel Levy, the man who ran Tottenham’s boardroom for over two decades before an abrupt and reportedly frosty exit earlier this year, has also thrown his hat into the ring as part of a rival consortium.
In effect, the family that eased Levy out of Spurs is now bidding against him for a basketball franchise.
🚨🚨| NEW: The Lewis family, who control Tottenham Hotspur, have joined a consortium bidding for the NEW NBA Europe London franchise.
The bid puts them up against former Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who is also part of a rival consortium.👀
[@MarkKleinmanSky] pic.twitter.com/CQc2EyLd34
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) August 11, 2026
That context quickly became relevant once the sports community began reacting to developments in the NBA Europe.
Levy’s time at Tottenham resulted in steady commercial growth and helped turn the club into a major global sports business. Yet the soccer side of the equation was much less consistent than the team’s resources and infrastructure.
His tenure also featured a succession of managerial changes, adding to the debate over his sporting record. One influencer did not hold back and even brought in Silver while discussing the possibility of Levy becoming involved with the NBA’s London project.
“Genuine malpractice from Mr Silver if he lets Levy be involved in any way,” one user wrote on X. Another one claimed that Levy would run the London team like the Sacramento Kings, writing, “For London and NBA’s sake Levy can’t win that he’s gonna run it like The Kings.”
Genuine malpractice from Mr Silver if he lets Levy be involved in any way https://t.co/Q2FdrYRiPq
— J (@pduxtz) August 11, 2026
Another influencer took a more humorous route, invoking HBO’s Succession to describe the unfolding drama.
“We are literally Succession FC,” they commented.
We are literally Succession FC https://t.co/y83NYQDaJu
— Billie (@Billie_T) August 11, 2026
Not every reaction was directed at Silver or Levy. One user instead suggested that the latest development made sense because it appeared the ownership group had been focused on priorities away from the soccer club over the previous few weeks.
“Makes sense, they’ve clearly had their priorities elsewhere the last 5 weeks… #thfc,” the user wrote.
Makes sense, they’ve clearly had their priorities elsewhere the last 5 weeks… #thfc https://t.co/1n1SYC3PO3
— Ash (@AshGCOYS) August 11, 2026
Another poked fun at Tottenham and joked that the Spurs owners were interested in having an NBA Europe team because they know the league would not have any relegation.
“That’s because they know there’s no relegation,” they wrote.
That’s because they know there’s no relegation https://t.co/cTlmpxZHFD
— Pilib De Brún (Phil Brown) (@Malachians) August 11, 2026
Whether or not the NBA ultimately hands London’s franchise to either camp, the episode has reopened old wounds at Tottenham.
