Image Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

NBA Paris Games 2025: Which was the first ever NBA game in France?

NBA will return to Paris this week for two regular-season games between the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers.

Image Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The NBA will return to Paris this week for two regular-season games between the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers. The games will be played at the iconic Accor Arena on January 23rd and January 25th. It’s always a special event when the NBA goes international, and Paris has become one of the most popular destinations for these games, thanks to the number of French players succeeding in the league.

But when did it all start? The first-ever NBA game in France actually wasn’t a regular-season game. It was in 1994, when the Golden State Warriors played the Charlotte Hornets in a preseason matchup. The game took place at the Palais Omnisports de Bercy, and the Warriors came out on top with a 132-116 win.

The NBA’s decision to go international was a big move. As the league grew in popularity, it made sense to take the game to global audiences.

However, NBA’s first official regular-season game in Paris took place much later, in 2020. Originally, the NBA held these Global Games in cities across Europe, but after Brexit, the event was moved to Paris. That year, the Milwaukee Bucks faced off against the Charlotte Hornets. It was a memorable game, with Giannis Antetokounmpo dropping 30 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to help the Bucks win 116-103.

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Since 2011, except for the 2012-13 season, the NBA has held a regular-season game in Europe every year. This tradition is part of the NBA Global Games initiative. And in 2025, fans in Paris will once again get the chance to see exciting NBA action up close.

Golden State Warriors

Indiana Pacers

NBA Paris Games 2025

San Antonio Spurs

Swati Bhatia

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I work as a content strategist, specializing in creating engaging content about the NBA, WNBA, and MLB. My main focus is on writing breaking news updates, research-based articles, and covering trending topics. Right now, I’m leading the content team for the NBA, WNBA, and MLB categories at Playoffs English.