NBA confirms Pelicans-Spurs fixtures in Paris and Manchester as European expansion continues
The National Basketball Association has announced regular-season games in Paris and Manchester, marking the first such fixture in the English city and continuing a broader strategy to grow the sport across Europe.
The New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs have been scheduled to play regular-season fixtures in Paris and Manchester as part of the NBA’s expanding multiyear international slate. The league confirmed the fixtures on Wednesday, setting a game in Paris for 14 January followed by a match in Manchester three days later.
The Paris encounter will mark the NBA’s sixth regular-season game in the city and the 16th NBA game hosted in France since 1991. The Manchester fixture represents the first time the city has hosted a regular-season game, although it will be the 20th time an NBA team has played in England since 1993.
George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s managing director for Europe and the Middle East, stated that the scheduling decisions reflect strong momentum for basketball in France, the UK, and across the continent. He noted that as interest in the game grows, the league aims to deliver unique experiences for fans, aspiring players, and local communities through these international partnerships.
This announcement follows the NBA’s previous revelation that it planned to host at least six regular-season games in Europe over a three-season period. The current slate began last January with games between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic in Berlin and London.
Looking further ahead, the NBA has confirmed that regular-season games for the 2027-28 season are planned for Berlin and Paris. The upcoming Paris and Manchester games serve as the latest step in this structured approach to international expansion, which has seen the league return to European soil since its first regular-season games in 1991.
