Spanish Basketball Federation Launches New League for Young Players

The departure of a mass of European prospects to the States for NIL deals is something Draft Digest has talked about extensively. Generally, the public has also waited for a response from European basketball. FIBA tried to impose a letter of clearance for prospects to leave for the states, but the ability to enforce that doesn't seem possible as FIBA is not a respected governing body by NCAA basketball, and also several European leagues.

On a domestic level, though, Spain has unsurprisingly become the first country to respond. The Spanish Basketball Federation announced earlier this June that they will debut Liga U this October. A new youth league for players under the age of 22, or born in 2004 and younger. The league's goal is to provide young players a competition where they can expect playing time, stay on their pro contracts, and receive a scholarship. All Liga ACB - Spain's top domestic league - teams are invited to participate.

The desire for young talent in Spain to seek opportunities elsewhere over the last couple of seasons was perhaps the biggest alarm bell in European basketball. Spain's Liga ACB has provided development and the ability to build draft stock for European prospects for over two decades. Pau and Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez, Nikola Mirotic, and, of course, Luka Doncic all came through the ranks at Spanish clubs, got drafted in the NBA, and went on to have stellar professional careers.

But last summer, Karim Lopez, a top international prospect for the 2026 NBA Draft, left Joventut Badalona - formerly regarded as one of the best clubs for development in Europe, where Rubio and Fernandez played pre-draft basketball - for a Next Stars deal in the Australian NBL. This summer, point guard Mario Saint-Supery, who was being discussed as a potential second-round pick after getting decent playing time in Spain's Liga ACB, decided to leave for an NIL deal in the States with Gonzaga.

Real Madrid and Barcelona, top clubs with strong development pipelines, lost two of their best young prospects - Egor Demin and Kasparas Jakucionis - to BYU and the University of Illinois, respectively. They both project to be lottery picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.

With Liga U, Spain hopes to put a dent in the departure of their youth talent. Whether it will work or not is a different discussion. The league certainly cannot match what players are making on NIL deals in the States, and the level of exposure also pales in comparison. If Spanish basketball is realistic about the aims of this league, and instead advises clubs to use it to help get young players ready for senior minutes with them or collaborate with NCAA programs to use the league to identify talent and ideally, receive better financial reward for players who leave for the States, then it has a chance to be a huge success. Liga U is an opportunity to build a continental bridge for basketball development, and ensure clubs continue to get rewarded for youth development.