The San Antonio Spurs and French star Victor Wembanyama are returning to Paris for a regular-season game in 2027.
The NBA announced Wednesday that the Spurs will face the New Orleans Pelicans in Paris and Manchester, England, on Jan. 14 and 17 next season.
In January 2025, the Spurs split a pair of regular-season games with the Indiana Pacers. Wembanyama was the focal point in the Spurs' last trip, which he called "amazing" and "incredible" at the time.
"It's an incredible honor to make our return to France and play our first-ever game in England, given the strong embrace we've felt from the community and fans across Europe," Spurs CEO RC Buford said in a statement.
"Always looking forward to expanding the game and being part of the cool process of being able to play outside the country," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said this week when asked about his team returning to France next season.
This will be the first overseas regular-season games for the Pelicans, who played the Houston Rockets in a pair of preseason games in China in 2016 and preseason contests in Europe in 2008.
"We are grateful to be part of the NBA's continued international growth efforts, and we are excited to help grow the game globally and connect with new generations of basketball fans," Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement.
This season, the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic played in Berlin and London in January, with each team winning one contest.
The NBA has played five regular-season games in Paris and will be making its regular-season debut in Manchester. The NBA said last year that it planned to play at least six regular-season games in Europe from 2025-26 to 2027-28. The games in the 2027-28 season will take place in Berlin and Paris.
"Playing games in Paris and Manchester reflects the strong momentum we're seeing for basketball and the NBA in France, the UK and across Europe," NBA managing director, Europe and Middle East, George Aivazoglou said in a statement. "As interest in the game continues to grow across the continent, we look forward to working with the Pelicans, the Spurs and our partners to deliver unique experiences for fans, aspiring players and the local communities."
Wednesday's announcement comes with the NBA and FIBA, the sport's global governing body, deep into plans for a new league that could start play in Europe as early as the fall of 2027. Paris and Manchester are on the list of cities expected to have teams in that league.
The Spurs, tapping into the massive global appeal that follows Wembanyama, have maintained a near-constant presence in France since landing the 7-foot-4 center with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft.
Earlier this season, the team debuted "Spurs Week Paris" to bring elements of its business and fan experience from San Antonio directly to French fans, with a retail pop-up shop, a court renovation, free youth clinics, a professional development program for French women working in sports and a watch party.
This trip for the Spurs and Pelicans will include similar elements, with plans for those days in Europe already scheduled to include youth basketball clinics, coach and referee development programming, and interactive fan events.
And it will be the second visit for a New Orleans team to Paris in a three-month span. The Saints will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Paris on Oct. 25 in the NFL's first regular-season game in France.
"Together with the Saints playing in Paris next season, the opportunity for the Pelicans to play internationally in Paris and Manchester represents another significant step in strengthening our organization's cultural and economic ties in these regions," said Pelicans governor Gayle Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.