The years after junior basketball are not self-sustaining. Without structure, they break down.
Across Europe, leagues respond by building explicit mechanisms for this phase. The examples below show how different rules organise these years, rather than leaving them to chance.
Make It Easy To Play Down a Level
Lithuania addresses a familiar problem. A young prospect can be good enough to train with a top-division squad, but not yet trusted with consistent minutes. Without a clear rule, those players often become stuck between environments.
In Lithuania, the top division is the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the second tier is the National Basketball League (NKL). Article 2.9.7 of the NKL regulations allows a number of Lithuanian under-22 players to be registered to compete in both leagues during the same season.
The direction of travel is explicit. The dual LKL and NKL licence only activates once a player has appeared in an LKL game. From that point, they are eligible to play NKL games while remaining fully registered with their LKL club.
In practice, prospects stay embedded in the top-division environment, but can be sent to the second tier for minutes without severing that link. Playing down becomes routine.
Make It Easy To Play Up a Level
Spain tackles the same problem from the opposite direction. If a young player is performing well at a lower level, the system needs a predictable way to reward that form with exposure higher up — without forcing a permanent transfer each time an opportunity arises.
Spain’s top men’s league is the Liga ACB. Under Article 17.1 of the ACB regulations, clubs can register affiliated players with their senior squads. These are players aged 19 to 22 who remain registered with a partner club under a formal affiliation agreement approved by the league.
Lithuania anchors prospects at the top and allows them to play down. Spain anchors players below and makes it easy to pull them up. In both cases, movement between levels is anticipated.
Pay Clubs for Development Minutes
France uses a different lever: money. Giving opportunities to young players can cost results, and leagues that want clubs to take that risk have to acknowledge it.
Article 282 of France’s second-tier men’s league regulations establishes a fund. All Élite 2 clubs contribute, and the fund is redistributed based on the regular-season minutes played by locally trained under-24 players.
Minutes become currency. Clubs are compensated for time actually given on the court, making it easier to live with mistakes while players learn.
Create a Separate Youth Competition
Spain has gone further by creating a dedicated competition for the transition cohort itself.
Liga U is a new under-22 competition launched in 2025, designed explicitly to slow the outflow of young Spanish talent towards US college basketball. It is contested by 15 of the 18 Liga ACB clubs and each team is required to have a minimum of six Spanish players under the age of 22.
The challenge is not only what sits below the top tier, but the alternatives outside the domestic system. Even well-structured pyramids can leave players exposed during these years, when opportunities are limited and outside options look safer.
By carving out a protected competitive space for players aged 18 to 21, Liga U creates time. It reduces the pressure to choose between waiting and leaving, rather than forcing decisions early.
Looking Towards Europe
European leagues disagree on the details, but not on the responsibility. The years after junior basketball have to be structured, whether through eligibility rules, financial incentives, or dedicated competitions.
In the years after junior basketball, opportunity only exists where it has been deliberately built.
