North American sports have been growing momentum in Europe for a number of years now as well as soccer growing in the US and Canada. With this has come a desire for international fans of said sports to see their favorite teams in action though they are thousands of miles away. As a result, these sports have spread the love of their said sports on an international level a number of times with both playing in the respective continents.
Most notably during the summer, many soccer teams will have summer friendlies in cities throughout the U.S. in cities like Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. Additionally, with the growing popularity of soccer in North America, the 2026 World Cup will take place in Mexico, Canada, and the United States of America.
On the other side, starting a few years ago, the NFL started playing a football game or two in London England. As a result, the Jacksonville Jaguars have grown vastly popular in England due to their involvement in the international games. Starting this season, the NFL had a game between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers in Berlin, Germany, and a Week 1 game between the Packers and Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
However, the action doesn’t stop there, today, Thursday, January 23, and Saturday, January 25 the Indiana Pacers will take on the San Antonio Spurs two times overseas. This will mark the fourth NBA Paris Games but is even more exciting this time as Spurs Frenchman and first overall pick (last year) Victor Wembanyama will be returning home to play in front of thousands of supporters.
Additionally, our own Indiana Pacers have grown to be one of the biggest names in the sport after making the Eastern Conference Finals last year and will be playing their first international game in Paris when. With the likes of All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and Cameroonian NBA Champion Pascal Siakam, this match will be a tough-fought battle for international glory. Additionally, with Siakam being from Cameroon (A french speaking country) there is a good chance of a strong show in support of him as it will be a lot closer for fans from his home country to come to this game.
This said, the biggest advantage lies in the hands of the Spurs with 21-year-old Frenchman Victor Wembanyama as he is only in his second year of playing in the NBA and prior to this played basketball in France for his entire adolescence. From 2019-2021 Wembanyama played for the Naterre 92 of the French league making his debut for them at 15 years old. Following this, from 2021-2022 he played for ASVEL and then finished his European Basketball career with the Metropolitans 92 of the French League in 2022-2023.
While home advantage is always critical to winning a game, this will be the toughest crowd the Pacers have ever played in front of and it can be expected that the fiery passion of European fans will triumph over any sort of home crowd we have ever seen in the United States. In Europe, the fans will be in extreme favor of Wembanyama and the Spurs and may go as far as waving flags in the stands, throwing confetti, etc. The antics of international fans in their own teams show that their passion for their teams is far more than what many Americans provide to theirs, and this will play a crucial role in the showing next week.
As of now there has been tickets purchased by people of 53 different countries, showing the support of the sport and desire to see it as a rare opportunity. With almost all of the NBA games taking place in the US and Canada, this opportunity to see the game played is a once a year thing and with the players at hand it is even more exciting and rare.
The game will be a battle and overall the Pacers are slightly favored to win. Most people at the game will be cheering for the Spurs so it will take a good effort from the Pacers to win, but with their play this year (since january) having only lost one game, they should be very determined to put on a show. The key to winning will be containing Wembanyama and forcing other players on the Spurs to make plays. If the Pacers can control Wembanyama on defense they should have some good opportunities on offense as the Spurs are the 21st best team on defense this year and allow a lot of points to the center and shooting guard which should open up opportunities for Pacers players Benedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard (shooting guards) as well as center Myles Turner.
All in all this game is bigger than just winning a game and is a representation of the league as a whole. This game should open up the opportunity for players to show the world just how good they really are and further inspire kids playing the beloved sport around the globe. The Pacers should have a good chance to take down the Spurs, but nonetheless, the game should be a hard fought battle with both teams having the support of millions on the line.