The Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets will play in Mexico City on Saturday night, marking the 35th NBA game held in the country—16 regular-season contests and 19 preseason matchups. Mexico has hosted more NBA games than any country outside the United States and Canada.
This is the fifth consecutive year the league has held a regular-season game in Mexico, the 15th overall since 2014.
The game carries added significance following NBA discussions about Mexico City as a potential expansion market. NBA owners received a briefing last month during a board of governors meeting on at least one Mexico City-based investment group that has approached investment bank PJT Partners, which is managing the NBA's expansion process.
The proposal includes construction of a new arena in the capital.
Commissioner Adam Silver addressed expansion prospects on the Pat McAfee Show, saying an NBA franchise in Mexico City is not imminent. But Silver noted Mexico City is North America's largest metropolitan area and has a shorter flight from New York than to Los Angeles, making it appealing for future consideration.
Las Vegas and Seattle remain the leading expansion candidates.
Mexico City's metropolitan area has 22 million people. The NBA estimates over 30 million fans live in Mexico. Basketball ranks second among team sports in the country, behind only soccer. The NBA leads among U.S. sports leagues for Gen Z fans in Mexico, with 7.5 million, according to GWI research.
The league's presence in Mexico dates to 1992 with its first game. An NBA office opened there in 2009 and currently employs roughly 20 people.
The NBA maintains about two dozen global and regional marketing partnerships with companies active in Mexico, including Adidas, American Express, AT&T, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Nike and Wendy's.
Merchandise sales at the two NBA stores in Mexico increased 78 percent year over year, with e-commerce sales up 61 percent.
In 2021, the NBA G League added the Mexico City Capitanes, its first franchise outside the United States and Canada. The Capitanes play at Arena CDMX. The NBA 2K League also launched an esports team in Mexico that year.
The NBA's opening day rosters this season featured 125 international players, including Karim López of the Memphis Grizzlies, the lone Mexican player among them.
