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The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) annual trip to Europe appears set to land in a new location in 2020 after commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the league was looking at taking the game to Paris.
London’s O2 Arena has hosted at least one regular season game eight times in the last nine years and has been the flagship location for the NBA’s competitive efforts abroad since the league hit the road again after an eight-year hiatus in 2011.
Now, however, it looks as if London’s time playing host to the NBA Global Games could be up, with Silver stating his intention to host the 2020 edition in Paris at the AccorHotels Arena.
Asked about the likelihood of a regular season game in the French capital, Silver said: “It is possible. It is something we are looking very closely at, and that is playing a regular season game in Paris for next season.
“France has historically been a terrific market for the NBA. As you know, we have several players from France as well. I know when we've played many exhibition games in Paris over the years – I remember being there with Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls and the tremendous excitement around that team. It will continue, I think, to be an important market.
“We took a number of years off because, of course, your arena was being renovated and upgraded. I haven't yet been to what used to be Bercy Arena, but I hear it's fantastic. So we're looking forward to coming back to Paris.”
Whilst Silver would not completely rule out hosting games in both London and Paris – offering extensive praise for the facilities at the O2 and the appetite of the UK fans for the NBA – he said it was unlikely that the league would take two regular season games to Europe.
“It's still a very labour-intensive undertaking to bring regular season games over to Europe,” he added. “Right now, we're still thinking that the format would probably be to have one game next year. But it's something that our London office is continuing to explore.”
The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) annual trip to Europe appears set to land in a new location in 2020 after commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the league was looking at taking the game to Paris.
London’s O2 Arena has hosted at least one regular season game eight times in the last nine years and has been the flagship location for the NBA’s competitive efforts abroad since the league hit the road again after an eight-year hiatus in 2011.
Now, however, it looks as if London’s time playing host to the NBA Global Games could be up, with Silver stating his intention to host the 2020 edition in Paris at the AccorHotels Arena.
Asked about the likelihood of a regular season game in the French capital, Silver said: “It is possible. It is something we are looking very closely at, and that is playing a regular season game in Paris for next season.
“France has historically been a terrific market for the NBA. As you know, we have several players from France as well. I know when we've played many exhibition games in Paris over the years – I remember being there with Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls and the tremendous excitement around that team. It will continue, I think, to be an important market.
“We took a number of years off because, of course, your arena was being renovated and upgraded. I haven't yet been to what used to be Bercy Arena, but I hear it's fantastic. So we're looking forward to coming back to Paris.”
Whilst Silver would not completely rule out hosting games in both London and Paris – offering extensive praise for the facilities at the O2 and the appetite of the UK fans for the NBA – he said it was unlikely that the league would take two regular season games to Europe.
“It's still a very labour-intensive undertaking to bring regular season games over to Europe,” he added. “Right now, we're still thinking that the format would probably be to have one game next year. But it's something that our London office is continuing to explore.”
