London Lions will become the first British club to face an NBA team when they walk out at the Moda Center on 12 October to play the Portland Trail Blazers — and the 2026-27 Super League Basketball season that starts on Friday will decide whether the rest of the league can keep pace with them.
The Lions begin their title defence away at Bristol Flyers, three weeks before the Portland trip. They arrive as holders of everything: last season they completed a domestic quadruple, winning the SLB Championship, the Play-Offs, the Cup and the Trophy, and they beat Paris Basketball in pre-season. In Europe they were less dominant, finishing eighth of 10 in their EuroCup group, and they return to the BKT EuroCup this season.
A first for British basketball
No UK club side has ever played an NBA franchise. The Portland fixture, a pre-season friendly tipping off at 1pm local time — 9pm BST — is being treated inside the club as a marker of how far the operation has come rather than a serious test of the scoreline.
“This is a historic moment for our club and for basketball in the United Kingdom,” said Lions general manager Martynas Purlys, who framed the game as recognition of the club’s growth.
Lions chief executive Lenz Balan was blunter about what it means personally. “I’ve wanted to be in the NBA since I was six years old,” he said. “This is the closest I’ve ever been.”
The realistic expectation is a heavy defeat. Portland will field a roster of NBA professionals in front of a home crowd; the Lions will field a EuroCup-level squad still in early-season condition. But the exposure matters more than the margin, and the timing is not accidental — the NBA is currently assembling a European league in which London is the single most contested market.
Ten teams, 36 games and a tighter league
Super League Basketball, launched in 2024 after the British Basketball League collapsed, enters its third season with 10 clubs, up from nine, following the addition of Liverpool Basketball. The format has been rebuilt around volume: every team plays each rival four times, twice home and twice away, across a 27-week regular season totalling 36 league games each. The SLB Cup is now the season’s only knockout competition, with all 10 clubs entered.
Newcastle Eagles owner Paul Blake, who has spent three decades in the British game, believes the gap at the top is closing.
“I’ve been involved for 30 years now and it’s definitely the most competitive it’s been, pretty much in all those 30 years,” he said.
There is evidence beyond optimism. Manchester Basketball beat German side Würzburg Baskets in the FIBA Basketball Champions League, a result that would have been implausible for a British club a few seasons ago. The Cup structure also guarantees jeopardy in January: the top six from last season’s Championship go straight to the quarter-finals, while the remaining four contest single-leg play-in ties on Friday 8 January — Newcastle host Caledonia, Surrey face Liverpool — with the quarter-finals two days later on Sunday 10 January.
Every Championship, Cup and Play-Off game will again be shown live and free on DAZN in the UK and internationally after the broadcaster extended its partnership with the league. The women’s competition, SLBW, tips off on Saturday 3 October.
What is actually at stake
The subtext to all of this is 2027. The NBA, working with FIBA, intends to launch a 16-team European league in October 2027 — 12 permanent franchises plus four annual qualifiers. London and Manchester are both named target cities. “We’re thinking of London and Manchester for the United Kingdom,” NBA Europe League managing director George Aivazoglou has said.
The London slot has drawn the heaviest bidding of any market, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly among the parties linked. Bids have reportedly ranged from $500m to more than $1bn. For a domestic league whose predecessor folded two years ago, that valuation gap is the defining fact of the era: British basketball’s ceiling is being set by outside capital, not by gate receipts in Bristol or Newcastle.
That is why Friday matters. A competitive 36-game season, a genuine title race and a credible Cup give SLB a product worth buying into and a pipeline worth preserving. A repeat Lions procession, followed by London’s absorption into a billion-dollar continental competition, leaves the other nine clubs arguing over what is left.
Cardiff Met Archers coach Stef Collins, speaking about the women’s game, identified the thing the league can control. “Women’s sport has shown that fans want to connect with the athletes, their personalities and their stories,” she said. Portland will provide the headline. The nine months after it will provide the answer.
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Two editorial notes: the brief says the season “gets under way on Friday”, which was 19 September — if publishing today (21 September) that line and the opener framing need updating to reflect the Bristol result. Also worth checking Gregg-style roster details and Lions’ EuroCup group standing against the club’s own release before publication.
Sources: [Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lions-set-nba-test-british-145851174.html), [Eurohoops](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1996126/london-lions-will-face-portland-trail-blazers-in-a-preseason-game/), [Newcastle Eagles](https://newcastle-eagles.com/news/2026-27-mens-super-league-basketball-fixtures/), [Bristol Flyers](https://www.bristolflyers.co.uk/mens-first-team/super-league-basketball-2026-27-schedule-and-competition-format-revealed/), [Sports Video Group](https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/09/18/dazn-and-super-league-basketball-extend-partnership-for-2026-27-season/), [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47388525/nba-fiba-aim-launch-new-european-basketball-league-27), [Hoopsfix](https://www.hoopsfix.com/2026/04/nba-europe-bids-close-as-london-emerges-as-most-sought-after-franchise)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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