1997 McDonald's Championship
The McDonald's Championship is where the NBA's relationship with Paris begins. According to ESPN's Connor O'Halloran, "This was a tournament that brought together the best teams from various parts of the world to face off against each other." This included the Chicago Bulls, Paris Basket Racing from France, Olympiacos Piraeus from Greece, and more.
The Bulls cruised through the bracket and Michael Jordan dominated. He finished with 27 points against Olympiacos in the final. According to O'Halloran, "Adam Silver, then president of NBA Entertainment, arrived in Paris for those 1997 games with a plan to convince Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan to allow the camera into the locker room and capture everything unfiltered." As we know, this would result in being ESPN's most-watched documentary ever.
2020:
Despite a handful of preseason games between the late 90s and mid-2000s, the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks played the first regular-season NBA game in France in 2020. The Bucks beat the Charlotte Hornets 116-103 in front of a sellout crowd at AccorHotels Arena in Paris. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points and 16 rebounds.
2023:
The second regular-season game in the French capital was a matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons. This was the Bulls' first trip to Paris since that McDonald's tournament in 1997. Ralph Rivera, managing editor of NBA Europe and Middle East said, "The Bulls and the Pistons having that classic rivalry is great, and then we also have European players on both those teams, and they're popular teams."
The Bulls beat the Pistons 126-108. Zach LaVine finished with 30 points. Killian Hayes, the only French player on either roster, finished with eight assists and four points.
2024:
The Brooklyn Nets are scheduled to play the Cavaliers on Jan. 11, 2024. This will be the third regular-season game played in Paris. This will be the Net's second time in Paris, having played a preseason game there previously in 2008. As for the Cavaliers, this marks their first game in Europe.
NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum emphasized his excitement to bring the game to Paris. Tatum said:
"We're thrilled to be bringing the live NBA experience back to Paris with two exciting teams in the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This game has become a destination for our passionate fans across Europe and will build on the incredible momentum around basketball and the NBA in France and throughout the region."
As the NBA continues to grow around the world, the NBA's international appeal grows with it and is likely to continue to do so in the coming years.