Hiram Moreno
The NBA is continuing its efforts to broaden its audience, and next season it will bring a game to France dubbed the “NBA Paris Game” for basketball fans throughout the continent.
The league announced that the game in question will pit the Chicago Bulls, six-time NBA champions, against the Detroit Pistons, who have won the championship three times. Both teams will play a regular season game at the Accor Arena in Paris, France, during January 2023.
This will mean the return of the NBA to Europe for the first time since 2020, after the problems caused by the pandemic affected this type of events. The NBA also announced that not only will the game be played, but other activities will also be held for the purpose of entertaining fans as well as raising funds for its “NBA Cares” charity program.
The Chicago Bulls will play their third game in France, albeit this will be their first regular season game; the previous two were preseason games in 1997. As for the Pistons, it will be the first time they step on French grounds.
Ralph Rivero, general director of NBA Europe and the Middle East, declared that this visit to Paris is the perfect opportunity for the league to continue expanding in the country.
With Paris hosting the 2024 Olympic Games, basketball and the NBA are in a good position to continue to grow in France in the coming years.
Ralph Rivera
Have there been NBA games in France before?
The league has a long history in France, since this will be the 12th time that the NBA will play a game in that country, with January 2020 being the previous occasion, in a clash between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Charlotte Hornets, a match that was played precisely in this same Accor Arena.
Tickets for the game will go on sale in the coming months, giving fans ample opportunity to attend this once-in-a-year event.
