Paris will host two Wembanyama Spurs matches next January – Libération

The American basketball league announced this Monday, March 29 that the San Antonio Spurs of French prodigy Victor Wembanyama will face the Indiana Pacers twice in Paris next January.

“Paris, we’re coming back!! And for two matches. The San Antonio Spurs of French prodigy Victor Wembanyama will play two games of the next NBA regular season in Paris, on January 23 and 25, 2025, against the Indiana Pacers, the North American Professional League announced this Monday, April 29 in a tweet. If the French capital will host an NBA meeting for the third year in a row, it will be a first for the Texan franchise of “Wemby”.

The location of the meeting is not specified, although the last two editions of the “Paris Game” took place in Bercy. In January, the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Brooklyn Nets in this room. A year earlier, it was the Chicago Bulls who won this relocated meeting against the Detroit Pistons of Frenchman Killian Hayes.

The arrival of the Spurs had been in the works for several months, in the wake of the emergence of the phenomenon Victor Wembanyama (20 years old, 2.24 m), selected by the Texan franchise as first choice in the first round of the draft last June. In mid-October, a Spurs delegation made a first prospective trip. Asked on this occasion about his desire to see San Antonio play an official meeting in Paris, the boss of the franchise, Peter J. Holt, did not mask his enthusiasm, citing “a fairly strong probability”. “If it were up to us, I would confirm it to you straight away,” he added.

Beyond that, “we are actively seeking partnership opportunities with French companies in all areas,” declared the owner of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, the holding company which owns, among others, the Spurs. In addition to Paris, which it particularly likes, the NBA is seeking to develop the holding of matches outside its natural borders (United States and Canada), in Europe, Mexico and the Middle East.