NBA Plans Play-Cation Games Over Next Three Seasons: France, Germany, U.K.
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 at 01:31PM By Barry Janoff
July 30, 2025: Calling it a reflection of “the incredible momentum and appetite for NBA basketball in France, Germany, the U.K. and across the region,” the NBA has unveiled a series of international games to be played over the next three seasons.
The first will feature the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic playing regular-season games in Berlin, scheduled for Jan. 15 and in London Jan. 18, 2026.
The league also said it would play regular-season games in Manchester and Paris in 2027 and in Berlin and Paris in 2028.
“Announcing the next three season’s regular-season games in Europe reflects the incredible momentum and appetite for NBA basketball in France, Germany, the U.K. and across the region,” George Aivazoglou, NBA managing director, Europe and Middle East, said via the league.
“We look forward to welcoming the Grizzlies and the Magic to Berlin and London and to engaging fans, players and the local communities through the games and the surrounding events.”
This past March, stressing that plans were far from being finalized, the NBA and FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball), the International governing body for basketball, said they have taken the next moves in exploring the potential of forming a league in Europe separate from the ones that currently exist.
The NBA and FIBA said they would “continue discussions that began more than a year ago with prospective investors, teams, arena developers and commercial partners.”
“We are ready to go to the next stage, and that is to explore a potential league in Europe with FIBA as our partner,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during a media conference in New York alongside FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis following a league board of governors meeting
The games and surrounding events in 2026 will be supported by a roster of marketing partners, including presenting partner Tissot and official partners Emirates, Foot Locker, NBA 2K26, Nike, PlayStation and Revolut.
The games will be held in Uber Arena (Berlin), The O2 (London), Co-op Live (Manchester) and the Accor Arena (Paris).
The dates and participating teams for the games in 2027 and 2028 will be unveiled prior to the 2026-27 and 2027-28 NBA seasons, respectively.
The NBA Berlin Game 2026 presented by Tissot will mark the 14th game featuring an NBA team in Germany since 1984 and the league’s first regular-season game in the country.
The NBA London Game 2026 presented by Tissot will be the 19th game featuring an NBA team in the UK since 1993 and the league’s 10th regular-season game in London.
The game in Manchester in 2027 will mark the second game featuring an NBA team in Manchester (2013) and the league’s first regular-season game in the city. The game in Paris in 2027 will mark the 16th game featuring an NBA team in France since 1991 and the league’s sixth regular-season game in Paris.
“Having proudly represented the NBA and the City of Orlando in Brazil, China, England, Japan and Mexico through The NBA Global Games, we are always honored to showcase our team on the world stage,” Charlie Freeman Orlando Magic president of business operations, said via the team.
“These upcoming games mark our 14th and 15th international appearances, and we are continually inspired by the passion and enthusiasm of fans across the globe. We are especially excited to bring the Orlando Magic to Berlin and London, and we look forward to connecting with both new and familiar fans and partners alike.”
In addition to the games in 2026, the NBA, the Grizzlies and the Magic will conduct NBA Cares community outreach initiatives, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA and Her Time to Play youth basketball clinics, coach and referee development programming, and "interactive fan activities that will bring the NBA experience to fans in Berlin and London."
All of the games will air live across Europe and around the world, reaching fans in more than 200 countries and territories on television, digital media and social media.
“We appreciate the opportunity to represent the NBA and to represent the city of Memphis and state of Tennessee on an international stage in Berlin and London,” Memphis Grizzlies president Jason Wexler said via the team.
“This is a first for our franchise, and we are excited for fans worldwide to see the talents of the Memphis Grizzlies on full display.”
Regarding overseas growth, Silver this past March said, “The NBA has been operating in Europe for decades, selling our programming, planning our pre-season games both pre-season friendly and regular season games such as the Paris Games we played in January,
"Many of us were in Paris (in 2024 for the Summer Olympics) and it gave us the opportunity to have further discussions with many different stakeholders about the opportunity to bring the sport to what we view as the next level.”
According to Silver, “The response we've gotten from the marketplace is very positive. Whether it's from media partners, whether it's from fan research that we've done, discussions directly with FIBA, advertising agencies and other clubs in Europe, several of them who have also been enthusiastic about the potential opportunity to better serve basketball fans in Europe."
The NBA and FIBA said a new professional men’s basketball league in Europe “would bring the sport to more European fans and accelerate the game’s growth across the continent.”
NBA, FIBA Take Euro-Steps To Form A League In Europe
Back to Home Page