Following the release of the full 2026-27 season schedule, there were a few games that particularly caught the eye. Aside from where LeBron James will be playing on the opening weekend and on Christmas Day, fans also looked at the games that will be played outside of the States.
Growing NBA fandom elsewhere in the world
The NBA is hoping to tap into growing local sports fandom in Paris, Manchester, and Mexico, having scheduled regular season games there for 2026-27.
Mexico’s Arena CDMX will host Denver Nuggets vs. Indiana Pacers in November. In January, the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs face off twice over four days and two cities (Paris then Manchester).
The Mexico game, which will be the league’s 35th in the country (more than anywhere else other than USA and Canada), may be livelier than most. It will take place during the week of Día de Muertos celebrations, which will be showcased in the arena as well as on the streets.
The Nuggets, NBA Championship winners in 2023, will call on three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, among other stars like Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray.
The NBA managing director said there was strong support for basketball in Europe. The Pelicans executive vice president and Spurs’ CEO both hyped up the games, the former describing them as an “incredible opportunity” to grow the game and franchise.
The 2026-27 season is airing in Mexico on various channels and streaming services: ESPN, Disney+, Prime Video, and NBA League Pass (via the NBA App). The press release for the Mexico game encouraged local fans to download the app and follow the NBA on social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, WhatsApp Channels, X, and YouTube).
The NBA En Español YouTube channel has over 600k subscribers, and its more popular videos receive over a million views – but there’s only one (of Steph Curry’s triples) with over two million views, showing it lags behind English-language channels.
England and France
It’s a similar story in Manchester and England, where basketball is behind the country’s traditional sports including soccer, rugby, and cricket. Though it’s more common to see young people with a basketball on the street than it was at the turn of the century, soccer is still England’s most popular sport by some margin.
However, there are far more games on TV nowadays, with Sky Sports and Prime Video showcasing dozens through the season (NBA League Pass covers fewer games). According to some figures, NBA fandom grew in the UK by around 24% from 2022-2025.
In France, Paris has a “unique tradition for the game”, according to Steve Griffiths, who previously worked as the league’s senior director for Europe and the Middle East. In 2022, Paris’s first NBA store was launched.
In 2025, the NBA Paris games were said to have given San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers a chance to “extend their brand” outside the States (per Sportico). The city had a hiatus from the NBA in 2026, but French fans will have the chance to see Victor Wembanyama on home soil in February 2027.