NEW YORK — The NBA and FIBA are exploring partnering on a new league in Europe and further expanding their roles there, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday.

Calling it a central topic of the two-day Board of Governors meeting that concluded Thursday, Silver — seated with FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis for the announcement — said the league was moving forward after a lengthy, yearslong process of investigating what might work for both sides.

“We feel now is the time to move to that next stage,” Silver said, noting that NBA owners offered “enthusiastic support” for such a move.

The NBA and FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, have been in discussions for some time about adding either an annual competition in Europe or even having an NBA-operated league there. It was a topic at a Board of Governors meeting this past September, one where Zagklis took part.

Zagklis was back for this meeting, and clearly things were trending this way for some time.

“Coming out of the most successful World Cup and Olympics ever, we also believe it is the right time to take the next step for club basketball,” Zagklis said.

In January, speaking at the NBA Paris Games – when the league took advantage of the trip to France to meet with European stakeholders on the topic of the future of basketball on that continent – Silver said he believes the NBA remains “on track” in the process of expanding its footprint in Europe. That was also when he said the league’s governors would be briefed further at the March meeting.

“The response we’ve gotten from the marketplace is very positive,” Silver said.

Zagklis said FIBA’s central committee also unanimously agrees that it’s the right time to partner with the NBA on a new league.