New Asian University Basketball League Seeks to Promote Talent and Basketball Expansion
Jay Li, CEO of the new Asian University Basketball League (AUBL), has two main goals for this innovative university basketball league that will launch this summer in Asia, the world’s largest continent.
Li seeks to bring together the best universities in Japan, China, Korea and beyond, and also aspires to add a new dimension to the development of basketball that could produce the next Asian NBA superstar.
There are many excellent universities in Asia that are leading global institutions, very famous schools, but they also have fascinating basketball programs and there is already a following. The AUBL is simply taking that to another level.
Jay Li, CEO of the AUBL
The league is backed by several investors, including Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty. The first AUBL games will be played in August, according to Li, after announcing that initial funding had been raised to launch the league.
In August, the league will organize a single-elimination tournament with 12 elite Asian university basketball programs, including the University of Hong Kong and Peking University (China), in an event that will culminate in a “Final Four” and a champion. In 2026, the AUBL will play a full schedule, which will include home and away games.
Li mentioned that college basketball can grow rapidly in Asia, where there are more than 1 billion fans of this sport. He has also received calls from Australia and other places around the world that want their schools to participate.
In Asia, basketball talent is growing really fast. We want to see more talent coming from Asia.
Jay Li, CEO of the AUBL
China and several European countries have their own professional development pathways that differ from the United States landscape, where college basketball has traditionally been the route to the NBA for top prospects.
Nebraska star Keisei Tominaga, who played on Japan’s Olympic team, signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers in 2024 after leading the Cornhuskers to the NCAA tournament that year.
As a former student-athlete, I appreciate the value of college sports for both participants and their communities. In Asian society, top-tier universities are among the most recognized brands, and they translate easily into sports through the spirit of competition between schools. That’s why I believe in the vision of the AUBL. Asia’s growing basketball market, growing talent, and growing institutional support create the right conditions for a successful college league.
Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty
While Yao and Lin were well-known names that helped grow basketball in Asia, few Asian players have competed in the NBA. Cui Yongxi, a two-way player for the Nets, became the seventh Chinese-born player in the NBA when he entered a game in October.
Li said that the AUBL will increase those figures because it will centralize the landscape of university basketball in Asia and make the NBA’s talent scouting process more efficient.
It’s good for talent development. What I see with the AUBL is that in the future, I think this is the platform where NBA scouts won’t want to miss our games because the next generation of NBA stars will come and play on this platform because we are basically champions of the best Asian universities. The best college students in Asia will play in this league. And I think some of them will make it to the NBA.
Jay Li, CEO of the AUBL
