The NBA is heading to Europe for at least six games in the next three years, the league announced on Wednesday.
That starts with the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic playing in Berlin on Jan. 15 and then in London on Jan. 18 in this coming season. That game in Berlin will be the NBA’s first regular season game in Germany, and it will feature German-born brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner.
“To have the Orlando Magic and the NBA play a regular-season game in our hometown of Berlin means everything to us,” the brothers said in a statement. “Growing up here, we dreamed of moments like this. It’s a huge honor to represent Berlin and Germany and show how much the city and country love basketball. We hope we can inspire kids the way we were inspired watching games from afar.”’
In 2026-27, the NBA will play games in Manchester, England, and Paris, then in the 2027-28 season it will be Berlin and Paris. The games will be played at Berlin’s Uber Arena, London’s The O2, Manchester’s Co-op Live and Paris’ Accor Arena.
” Announcing the next three season’s regular-season games in Europe reflects the incredible momentum and appetite for NBA basketball in France, Germany, the UK, and across the region,” George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s managing director for Europe and the Middle East, said in a statement. “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.”
The NBA is banking on that appetite, as these games come while the association is working toward launching an NBA-branded league in Europe, something NBA owners seem more eager to do in the next handful of years than expanding the league to cities such as Seattle or Las Vegas. The form of this European league is still being decided — it likely would be a mix of existing teams and some new, expansion ones — and would be direct competition with the existing EuroLeague.
Whatever happens with the new league, the NBA will continue to play games on the continent and will try to grow its brand and presence there.
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