European Basketball: Signals Behind the Momentum (Part 1/2)

What a time it is for European basketball. First, the meteoric rise of the German national team: Germany’s national basketball team captured the world title at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, becoming world champion for the first time ever. And now, in 2025, they added the European crown too, winning EuroBasket 2025 after beating Turkey in a dramatic final 88-83.

Beyond national teams, the sport is transforming across multiple fronts, something we see reflected directly in our conversations with clubs, leagues, and organisers across Europe. More European players than ever are shaping the NBA; the NBA itself is exploring new footholds in Europe; and formats like 3 × 3 are accelerating audience growth in markets that previously saw slower development. The momentum is not driven by one headline but by a steady rise in visibility, talent pipelines, and demand across venues and competitions. All of this points to a sport on the move: faster, more global, more accessible and with ticketing demand building in ways we are seeing first-hand across the events and organisations we support.

But with that momentum comes pressure: a surge in audience demand, new formats, new geographies, new platforms and, in turn, heightened requirements for ticketing infrastructure, data ownership, monetisation, and an operational backbone that can scale. That is where a platform like vivenu steps in: helping rights-holders, leagues, and organisers take full control, unlock new revenue streams, and ensure future-ready capability as events grow bigger, more global, and more complex, something we experience daily as more organisers turn to us to handle rising demand.

Let’s dig into the data, unpack what is happening, and examine what it means for ticketing.

1. The German story: World Champion → European Champion

Germany’s ascent matters. As noted above, they took the 2023 World Cup. Then at EuroBasket 2025 in Riga they went 9-0 and secured the title for only the second time in history (first since 1993).

This achievement – world champion plus European champion – serves as a lightning rod for growth: increased national attention, stronger sponsor activity, higher fan engagement, expanded merchandise demand, broadcast uplift, and, crucially, rising live-event attendance across multiple competitions.

From the perspective of organisers we work with, this momentum is already measurable: earlier on-sales, longer waitlists, and stronger demand signals across international matches, Bundesliga fixtures, and EuroLeague games. These are the same events where we see concurrency peaks rising, more segmented audiences, and a clear shift toward premium tiers and custom journeys.

At the centre of this success stand stars shaping both the sport and its marketability. Dennis Schröder captains Germany while previously signing a two-year, 26 million dollar contract with the Toronto Raptors, symbolising leadership and consistency. Franz Wagner, one of the NBA’s brightest young forwards, recently signed a 224 million dollar extension with the Orlando Magic through 2030. Add to that Luka Doncic, Slovenia’s superstar and one of the NBA’s highest-paid players with a 215 million dollar contract through 2027, and you have a European generation shaping basketball’s global economy. Their rise builds on the foundation created by Jokic and Giannis, whose dominance over the last years made Europe's influence impossible to overlook.

Their presence has a measurable impact: Orlando has seen a notable rise in international fan engagement and jersey sales; EuroBasket ticket demand spiked after Germany’s World Cup win; and across the continent, 2025/26 season ticket sales are exceeding all previous records. EuroLeague attendance is up 17 percent from 2024 levels, and German Bundesliga clubs report sell-outs weeks before opening day.

In Germany alone, pre-sales for friendly matches hit all-time highs, with waiting lists forming for the 2026 season. That surge means operational pressure too: high concurrency during on-sales, more price tiers, and elevated expectations for reliability. For organisers we support, the need for enterprise-grade ticketing infrastructure has never been more urgent and many are already switching to platforms that can guarantee stability during these high-intensity moments.

2. Rising ticketing momentum across Europe

There are clear signals across European basketball that demand is rising. A few key data points:

At EuroBasket 2025, social and digital engagement broke records: social media impressions exceeded 9.2 billion and video views jumped to 2.8 billion.
For club basketball: in the EuroLeague, ticket demand is up, with general-public sales for some matches selling out in under four hours, and overall attendance up by about 17 percent.
Event formats like 3 × 3 are also pushing new markets: the FIBA 3 × 3 Europe Cup qualifiers show anticipation and ticketing demand rising.

Across the organisers we speak with, this adds up to the same pattern: more eyeballs, more physical attendance, more willingness to spend, and stronger global fan linkages. For ticketing, that means increased volumes, more price tiers, more complexity (for example multi-venue tournaments, variable seat zones, hospitality packages) and greater expectations for reliability and customisation, exactly the areas where we see the strongest inbound momentum as organisers re-evaluate legacy workflows.

Also notable: the formats. The more accessible 3 × 3 version appeals to younger, urban audiences and can be hosted in compact, flexible venues. This opens up secondary revenue streams (festival-style interplay, mixed sport-and-music events) and invites alternative ticketing models (bundle packages, single-day passes, VIP experiences). We see this reflected in the increasing demand for flexible pricing, custom checkout flows, and enhanced audience segmentation across the events we power.

3. The global parallel: what the NFL is signalling

The evolution of ticketing is not limited to basketball. The NFL, long the benchmark for commercialisation in global sport, is reportedly considering significant changes to its ticketing operations from 2027 onward. The league’s current network deals with Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, and Sports Illustrated Tickets are due to expire in March 2027, and the NFL is weighing whether to own all or part of a primary ticketing provider itself.

In doing so, it would consolidate ticket control at league level, ensure ownership of all fan data from digital tickets, and restrict secondary resales outside its official ecosystem. Essentially, the NFL is testing whether it can do for ticketing what MLB is pursuing, selling directly to fans with full data ownership.

The implications reach far beyond American football. The NFL sold 18.9 million tickets last season, and its decision to potentially internalise ticketing underscores how central fan data has become to long-term revenue strategy. For the European organisers we work with, this mirrors many of the same questions being raised: how much control should rights-holders have over pricing, distribution, and audience ownership?

If the world’s richest sports league is re-evaluating its relationship with vendors and considering infrastructure ownership, the signal to basketball organisers is clear: ticketing is not an operational tool; it is a strategic asset. And the shift towards owning ticketing infrastructure is a trend we see emerging gradually among the organisations we support as well.

For European rights-holders this means: either adapt and scale for next-generation attendances and formats, or risk being left behind. Ticketing platforms must handle high concurrency on on-sales, dynamic pricing, global fan audiences, multi-regional payments, resellers and affiliates, and full data ownership and customisation.

4. Call to action for rights-holders and organisers

For federations, clubs and event organisers across Europe and beyond, the message is clear:

Prepare for elevated demand and rising complexity.
Leverage premium tiers, new formats and global fan growth.
Own your data and ensure seamless integration across CRM and marketing.
Choose platforms designed for enterprise scale and global expansion.
Treat ticketing as strategic infrastructure, not a commodity.

As basketball’s next chapter unfolds, the winners will be those who own the fan experience end to end and many of today’s leading organisers are already making that shift.