LeBron James Signs Extension With Lakers
AUGUST 18: The Lakers have officially signed James to an extension, the team announced (Twitter link via Marc Stein).
AUGUST 17: Superstar forward LeBron James has agreed to a contract extension with the Lakers, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
It’ll be a new two-year, maximum-salary deal that includes a second-year player option, per Wojnarowski. That means James is now under contract with the Lakers through at least the 2023/24 season, with an option on ’24/25. The agreement also includes a 15% trade kicker, Woj adds.
James is earning $44,474,988 in 2022/23, which exceeds the standard maximum of $43,279,250 for a player with 10-plus years of NBA experience. Because he’s still eligible for a 5% raise on a new extension, LeBron’s 2023/24 salary will likely be $46,698,737. His ’24/25 player option will be worth $50,434,636, an 8% raise on the first year of his extension, for a total two-year value of $97,133,373.
The value of James’ extension could increase further if the NBA salary cap for ’23/24 comes in higher than anticipated. The cap is currently projected to be $133MM, but if it ends up exceeding $133,425,000, LeBron’s starting salary on the extension would instead be worth 35% of the cap.
[RELATED: 2022/23 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
James became eligible for a new two-year extension on August 4. He was ineligible to sign a deal longer than that due to the NBA’s Over-38 rule.
Despite his new eligibility, there was a sense that James wouldn’t rush into a new deal right away. The four-time MVP would have been able to retain leverage and perhaps wield more influence on the Lakers’ roster moves by holding off on that commitment. Taking that route would also have given LeBron a chance to assess the team’s roster additions – and new head coach Darvin Ham – during the 2022/23 season.
However, it appears that James was comfortable renewing his commitment to the Lakers despite last season’s disappointing 33-49 showing and lingering questions about the roster. The new deal will give LeBron the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent at age 39, at which point he’s expected to try to team up with his son Bronny James, who would be draft-eligible no earlier than 2024.
While the Lakers almost certainly wouldn’t have considered moving him anyway, James’ extension will make him ineligible to be traded during the 2022/23 season — he can’t be dealt for six months after signing the contract, since it exceeds the NBA’s “extend-and-trade” restrictions.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) previously noted, the Lakers’ potential 2023 cap room won’t be affected in any real way by James’ new extension, since his free agent cap hold would have been equivalent to his extension salary. Los Angeles projects to have over $20MM in room next summer when several contracts – including Russell Westbrook‘s – expire, which will open up some options for the team but won’t be enough for another maximum-salary player.
James’ new deal makes him the highest-paid player in NBA history in terms of total earnings, at least for the time being, Marks tweets. Assuming LeBron’s deal ends up being worth $97.1MM, he’ll be at $532MM in career earnings, surpassing Kevin Durant‘s $508MM.
More Than 30 NBA Players On Track To Suit Up For EuroBasket
The first EuroBasket tournament in five years will tip off in two weeks and there are currently 34 NBA players on track to participate in the event, representing 17 different countries, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net.
EuroBasket is a 24-team international basketball competition also known as the European Basketball Championship. It historically took place every two years, but that gap was recently adjusted to four years, emulating the FIBA World Cup schedule.
The last EuroBasket tournament was played in 2017 — the next one had been scheduled for 2021, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. As a result, after being played every two years since 1947, it has now been five years since the last EuroBasket tournament, easily the longest layoff since World War II.
It’s possible that some NBA players will be cut from their teams’ rosters or will have to drop out due to injuries or personal reasons before the event begins on September 1, but in general enthusiasm to participate in the long-awaited event appears high.
Here’s the list of NBAers currently set to play in EuroBasket, per Eurohoops:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Jusuf Nurkic (Trail Blazers)
- Croatia
- Bojan Bogdanovic (Jazz)
- Dario Saric (Suns)
- Ivica Zubac (Clippers)
- Czech Republic
- Vit Krejci (Thunder)
- Finland
- Lauri Markkanen (Cavaliers)
- France
- Evan Fournier (Knicks)
- Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)
- Theo Maledon (Thunder)
- Georgia
- Goga Bitadze (Pacers)
- Sandro Mamukelashvili (Bucks)
- Germany
- Daniel Theis (Pacers)
- Franz Wagner (Magic)
- Greece
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Tyler Dorsey (Mavericks)
- Israel
- Deni Avdija (Wizards)
- Italy
- Simone Fontecchio (Jazz)
- Danilo Gallinari (Celtics)
- Lithuania
- Domantas Sabonis (Kings)
- Jonas Valanciunas (Pelicans)
- Montenegro
- Marko Simonovic (Bulls)
- Serbia
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Slovenia
- Vlatko Cancar (Nuggets)
- Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
- Goran Dragic (Bulls)
- Spain
- Usman Garuba (Rockets)
- Juancho Hernangomez (Raptors)
- Willy Hernangomez (Pelicans)
- Turkey
- Furkan Korkmaz (Sixers)
- Cedi Osman (Cavaliers)
- Alperen Sengun (Rockets)
- Ukraine
- Alex Len (Kings)
- Svi Mykhailiuk (Raptors)
There are also multiple NBA free agents on EuroBasket rosters, including French swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and German guard Dennis Schröder.
A number of young NBA players, such as 2022 draftees Jeremy Sochan and Nikola Jovic, have dropped out to focus on getting ready for the 2022/23 season, while others, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) and Frank Ntilikina (France), were ruled out due to injuries.
Round robin play will begin on September 1, with each team facing the other five clubs in its group once. The top four teams in each group will advance to a 16-team bracket that begins on September 10. The final will take place on September 18, just over a week before NBA training camps get underway.
Longest-Tenured NBA Head Coaches
As we detailed on Wednesday, 2022 has been a somewhat eventful year on the NBA’s coaching carousel, with four teams hiring new head coaches this offseason.
All four clubs that have made changes since the 2021/22 season began were replacing coaches who had ranked among the league’s top 12 longest-tenured head coaches. Quin Snyder (Jazz) and James Borrego (Hornets) were the fourth- and sixth-longest tenured head coaches, respectively, before they were replaced this spring. Luke Walton (Kings) had ranked 10th, while Frank Vogel (Lakers) was 12th.
Given the turnover in the head coaching ranks, it’s time we update our list sorting the NBA’s 30 head coaches by when they were hired. Here’s the current breakdown of the league’s longest-tenured head coaches by team:
- Gregg Popovich, Spurs: December 1996
- Erik Spoelstra, Heat: April 2008
- Steve Kerr, Warriors: May 2014
- Michael Malone, Nuggets: June 2015
- Mike Budenholzer, Bucks: May 2018
- Dwane Casey, Pistons: June 11, 2018
- Nick Nurse, Raptors: June 14, 2018
- Monty Williams, Suns: May 2019
- Note: Williams remained a Sixers assistant through the end of Philadelphia’s playoff run.
- Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies: June 2019
- J.B. Bickerstaff, Cavaliers: February 2020
- Tom Thibodeau, Knicks: July 2020
- Steve Nash, Nets: September 3, 2020
- Billy Donovan, Bulls: September 22, 2020
- Doc Rivers, Sixers: October 3, 2020
- Tyronn Lue, Clippers: October 20, 2020
- Stephen Silas, Rockets: October 30, 2020
- Mark Daigneault, Thunder: November 2020
- Chris Finch, Timberwolves: February 2021
- Nate McMillan, Hawks: March 2021
- Note: McMillan was an interim head coach until being named the permanent coach on July 8, 2021.
- Rick Carlisle, Pacers: June 24, 2021
- Chauncey Billups, Trail Blazers: June 27, 2021
- Ime Udoka, Celtics: June 28, 2021
- Jason Kidd, Mavericks: June 28, 2021
- Jamahl Mosley, Magic: July 11, 2021
- Wes Unseld Jr., Wizards: July 17, 2021
- Willie Green, Pelicans: July 22, 2021
- Mike Brown, Kings: May 2022
- Darvin Ham, Lakers: June 3, 2022
- Steve Clifford, Hornets: June 24, 2022
- Will Hardy, Jazz: June 29, 2022
While there are no surprises at the very top of this list, Budenholzer’s spot in the top five reflects how short the typical tenure for an NBA head coach is — he has moved that high despite having coached the Bucks for only four seasons.
Similarly, Bickerstaff has moved into the top 10 even though he was hired by the Cavaliers just two-and-a-half years ago
Heat Notes: Schedule, Butler, Herro
If the Heat needed any extra motivation heading into the 2022/23 season, the NBA’s newly released TV schedule should provide some, Ira Winderman writes for The Sun Sentinel.
As Winderman outlines, despite making it to within one game of the NBA Finals last season, Miami will make just 11 appearances on TNT, ESPN, and ABC in ’22/23. By comparison, the Lakers, who missed the play-in tournament, will have 27 such games; the Sixers, whom the Heat defeated in the second round of the postseason, will have 23.
The Heat are also the only one of the NBA’s eight teams that made the conference semifinals last season that won’t be in action on Christmas Day, Winderman observes within his breakdown of the club’s schedule.
Here’s more out of Miami:
- Could Jimmy Butler emerge as the Heat’s go-to option at power forward following the free agent departure of P.J. Tucker? Winderman explores that subject in a Sun Sentinel mailbag, noting that it could work in certain matchups and would help unlock the team’s perimeter potential, as long as Butler is comfortable with it.
- While things could change between now and the October 17 deadline, the Heat are showing no urgency at this point to get a rookie scale extension done with Tyler Herro, Winderman says in another Sun Sentinel article. As we explained on Wednesday, extending Herro would activate the “poison pill provision,” which would make it extremely difficult to trade him during the 2022/23 league year. As Winderman writes, not extending Herro this offseason would leave in-season trade options open and would put the Heat in position to re-sign him as a restricted free agent next summer if he remains on the roster.
- Be sure to check out our Miami Heat page for all the latest updates on the team, including Udonis Haslem continuing to weigh his decision for 2022/23 and the Heat and Spurs being scheduled to play a game in Mexico City in December.
Lakers To Retire Pau Gasol’s No. 16 Jersey In March
The Lakers will retire Pau Gasol‘s No. 16 jersey on March 7, 2023, the team announced today in a press release. The Lakers will be playing host that night to the Grizzlies, the club that acquired Gasol in a draft-night trade in 2001 and eventually sent him to L.A. in 2008.
After being acquired by the Lakers in that blockbuster deal that landed his brother Marc Gasol in Memphis, Pau appeared in 429 regular season games for the franchise, averaging 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game in 35.7 minutes per contest while shooting 52.2% from the floor.
Gasol, who announced his retirement last October at age 41, played a key role in the Lakers’ 2009 and 2010 championships, putting up 18.9 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 2.0 BPG in 46 games (40.1 MPG) during those two postseason runs. The standout forward/center made three All-Star teams during his time in Los Angeles and also earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in ’09 and ’10, as well as a place on the Second Team in ’11.
Gasol will be the 11th player to have his jersey number retired, joining teammate Kobe Bryant (Nos. 8 and 24), as well as Wilt Chamberlain (13), Elgin Baylor (22), Gail Goodrich (25), Magic Johnson (32), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33), Shaquille O’Neal (34), James Worthy (42), Jerry West (44), and Jamaal Wilkes (52).
Because he hasn’t played in the NBA since 2019, Gasol will be eligible to be part of the 2023 Hall of Fame class and has an excellent chance to be inducted. In addition to his impressive NBA résumé, Gasol also won several medals in international competition with the Spanish national team.
2022/23 NBA Schedules By Team
The NBA has officially unveiled its full regular season schedule for 2022/23.
The season will begin on Tuesday, October 18 and wrap up Sunday, April 9. The play-in tournament will take place from April 11-14, with the playoffs beginning on April 15.
The league’s announcement highlighted the fact that the estimated average miles traveled per team in 2022/23 has been reduced to 41,000, which is a new record low since the NBA has had 30 teams and played an 82-game season.
The league also confirmed several previously reported marquee matchups, including its five-game Christmas Day slate, an opening night doubleheader of Sixers at Celtics and Lakers at Warriors, and games taking place in Mexico City and Paris.
Listed below are links to the full 2022/23 season schedules for each NBA team, organized by conference and division. The team-by-team schedules for ’22/23 can also be viewed in a single document right here, while the full schedule by date can be viewed here.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Poison Pill Provision
The poison pill provision isn’t technically a term defined in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. However, the concept of a “poison pill” has colloquially come to refer to a pair of NBA concepts.
The first of those concepts relates to the Gilbert Arenas Provision, which we’ve explained in a separate glossary entry. When a team uses the Arenas provision to sign a restricted free agent with one or two years of NBA experience to an offer sheet, that team can include a massive third-year raise that’s often referred to as a “poison pill,” since it makes it more difficult for the original team to match the offer.
The second meaning of the “poison poll” is the one that has become more common – and more frequently relevant – in recent years. It relates to players who recently signed rookie scale extensions.
The “poison pill provision” applies when a team extends a player’s rookie scale contract, then trades him before the extension officially takes effect. It’s a rare situation, but it features its own set of rules, since extensions following rookie contracts often create a large gap between a player’s current and future salaries.
For salary-matching purposes, if a player is traded between the time his rookie contract is extended and the following July 1 (when that extension takes effect), the player’s incoming value for the receiving team is the average of his current-year salary and the annual salary in each year of his extension.
His current team, on the other hand, simply treats his current-year salary as the outgoing figure for matching purposes.
Let’s use Heat guard Tyler Herro as an example. Herro, who is currently viewed as both a trade candidate and an extension candidate, is set to earn $5,722,116 in 2022/23, the final year of his rookie scale contract. Any extension he signs would be significantly more lucrative. To illustrate our point, let’s assume he and the Heat agree to a four-year, $120MM rookie scale extension that would begin in ’23/24.
If the Heat decide after signing Herro to that extension that they want to trade him, the poison pill provision would complicate their efforts. From Miami’s perspective, Herro’s current-year cap hit ($5,722,116) would represent his outgoing salary for matching purposes. However, any team acquiring Herro would have to view his incoming value as $25,144,423 — that’s the annual average of the five years and $125,722,116 he has left when accounting for both his current contract and his (hypothetical) new extension.
As we explain in our glossary entry on the traded player exception, NBA rules dictate that over-the-cap teams must send and receive approximately the same amount of salary in any trade. So applying the poison pill provision to a player like Herro and creating a difference of nearly $20MM between how two trade partners account for him would make salary-matching far more difficult than usual.
The poison pill provision is one key reason why the Heat are unlikely to extend Herro until they’re fairly certain they won’t use him in a blockbuster trade. Without an extension in place, his current-year salary of $5,722,116 is both his outgoing and incoming cap hit for matching purposes.
Trades involving a player who recently signed a rookie scale extension are already rare. After all, those players are generally young, and a player who signed an extension is promising enough to have warranted a long-term investment. Those aren’t players that teams often trade. The poison poll provision further disincentivizes a deal involving one of those recently extended players by complicating salary-matching rules, making those trades that much more rare.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in 2012, 2018, and 2021.
Poll: Best NBA Head Coaching Hire Of 2022
As we outlined in detail earlier today, four NBA teams made head coaching changes this offseason. Those changes were as follows:
- Charlotte Hornets: Hired Steve Clifford to replace James Borrego.
- Los Angeles Lakers: Hired Darvin Ham to replace Frank Vogel.
- Sacramento Kings: Hired Mike Brown to replace Alvin Gentry.
- Utah Jazz: Hired Will Hardy to replace Quin Snyder.
The Hornets and Kings, two young teams looking to get back to the playoffs, took somewhat similar approaches in their hiring processes, landing on candidates who have plenty of previous head coaching experience and who have led lottery teams to the postseason in the past.
Between them, Clifford and Brown have coached 1,200 NBA regular season games. And despite having underwhelming rosters in Charlotte and Orlando, Clifford has led his teams to the playoffs in four of eight seasons. Brown’s clubs made the postseason in six of his seven full seasons as a head coach.
The Lakers and Jazz, meanwhile, took a different path, hiring veteran assistants who are becoming head coaches for the first time.
It’s an interesting choice for the Lakers, given that they have a veteran roster and title aspirations, but they believe Ham – a former player himself – can command the respect of stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis and won’t back down from making tough, necessary rotation decisions.
As for the Jazz, their new head coach – who is known for his player development skills – will be the league’s youngest. Hardy’s hiring was perhaps the first obvious signal that the team would be charting a new course this summer. After trading away standout center Rudy Gobert, Utah is either headed for a full-fledged rebuild or intends to reshape its roster around young star Donovan Mitchell. Taking the former route would make some sense based on Hardy’s skill set and the fact that he received a five-year contract.
Based on what you know about these four teams and their new coaches, we want to know which of this offseason’s head coaching hires you liked the best. Obviously, the expectations won’t be the same for all four coaches, so we’re taking potential long-term success and tenure into account, rather than just projecting which team will have the best record in 2022/23.
Which of these four coaches will be the most successful in his new job? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Which head coach will be the most successful in his new job?
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Mike Brown (Kings) 33% (352)
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Darvin Ham (Lakers) 30% (320)
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Will Hardy (Jazz) 20% (211)
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Steve Clifford (Hornets) 16% (173)
Total votes: 1,056
2022 NBA Head Coaching Carousel Recap
Over the last couple months, NBA teams have been overhauling their rosters, signing free agents, making trades, and locking up their draft picks to contracts. Prior to the draft and free agency though, a handful of teams completed another major offseason change that shouldn’t be overlooked — four NBA clubs named a new head coach.
Here’s a recap of this offseason’s head coaching changes and a brief look at how they played out:
Charlotte Hornets
Hired: Steve Clifford (story)- Replaced: James Borrego (story)
- Contract details: Three-year deal (two guaranteed seasons, third-year team option)
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Kenny Atkinson, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Charles Lee, Terry Stotts, Sean Sweeney, David Vanterpool, Frank Vogel
While it didn’t receive as much fanfare as some of this spring’s other head coaching searches, the Hornets’ hiring process was easily the most eventful of the bunch. After dismissing Borrego due to Charlotte’s defensive shortcomings and a failure to make its first and only play-in game competitive in either of the last two seasons, the team embarked on a hunt for an experienced replacement.
Atkinson, D’Antoni, and Stotts were reported to be finalists, with the decision coming down to Atkinson and D’Antoni. The Hornets offered Atkinson the job and he accepted, but eight days later, word broke that he had reneged on the agreement between the two sides, sending Charlotte back to square one.
Rather than returning to D’Antoni or Stotts, the Hornets pivoted in another direction, opting for a reunion with Clifford, who coached the club from 2013-18.
By hiring not just a former NBA head coach but one who coached the Hornets only four years ago, the organization certainly opened itself up to criticism for going the “retread” route. But Clifford had more success in his five seasons in Charlotte than any other head coach has in recent team history. Since reentering the NBA in 2004, Charlotte has made the playoffs just three times since then, and two of those postseason berths came during Clifford’s tenure.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Hired: Darvin Ham (story)
- Replaced: Frank Vogel (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Kenny Atkinson, Adrian Griffin, Mark Jackson, Charles Lee, Terry Stotts
Vogel’s firing had been rumored since the first half of the 2021/22 season, so it came as no surprise when he was quickly let go following the end of the regular season. He led the Lakers to a championship less than two years ago, but the team’s 33-49 showing in ’21/22 was so disappointing that he became an obvious fall guy.
The Lakers were linked to a number of high-profile candidates during their search – they reportedly had interest in Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers, Quin Snyder, and Juwan Howard – but eventually focused on a handful of more realistic options.. They narrowed their finalists to Ham, Stotts, and Atkinson, then chose Ham, the only one of the three without any prior head coaching experience.
A veteran assistant who was on the Lakers’ staff from 2011-13 and then plied his trade under Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and Milwaukee, Ham should bring a fresh perspective to a roster that didn’t mesh well last season. L.A. will be hoping he can make the same sort of immediate impact that former players and first-time head coaches Ime Udoka and Willie Green did last season in Boston and New Orleans, respectively.
Sacramento Kings
- Hired: Mike Brown (story)
- Replaced: Alvin Gentry (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Steve Clifford, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Will Hardy, Mark Jackson, Charles Lee
Gentry, who replaced Luke Walton during the first half of the 2021/22 season, previously stuck around following interim stints in Detroit and Phoenix to become those teams’ permanent head coaches. But after leading the Kings to an underwhelming 24-41 record to close out the season, he was unable to replicate that feat in Sacramento.
One report early in the Kings’ search process indicated they were seeking out a candidate who had experience turning a lottery team into a playoff club and who could improve Sacramento’s defense. The team ultimately landed on Brown, who achieved the first of those requirements in Cleveland and has a reputation as a defensive-minded coach.
Brown’s previous head coaching stints have been a mixed bag. He led the Cavs to an outstanding 272-138 (.663) regular season record from 2005-10, but the team only made two deep playoff runs during that time — once to the Eastern Finals and once to the NBA Finals. He then had brief stints with the Lakers (71 games) and Cavs again (82 games) before serving as an assistant in Golden State for several years.
His time spent honing his coaching skills as part of the Warriors’ championship teams will be put to the test in Sacramento, where he’ll be tasked with getting the Kings back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
Utah Jazz
- Hired: Will Hardy (story)
- Replaced: Quin Synder (story)
- Contract details: Five-year deal
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Jerome Allen, Johnnie Bryant, Sam Cassell, Adrian Griffin, Alex Jensen, Charles Lee, Joe Mazzulla, Chris Quinn, Lamar Skeeter, Terry Stotts, Sean Sweeney, Jason Terry, Frank Vogel, Kevin Young
Speculation about Snyder’s future began well before the Jazz were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, but he didn’t formally step down until June 5, over a month after Utah’s season came to an end.
Getting a late start on their coaching search didn’t dissuade the Jazz from exercising a patient approach and casting a wide net. Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik interviewed 14 candidates for the position, reportedly focusing on coaches who were highly regarded for their player development skills and defensive acumen.
Utah’s eventual choice was an interesting one. Hardy came from Ainge’s old team in Boston, though the two didn’t overlap at all — Hardy only joined the Celtics’ coaching staff in 2021 after serving as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio for several years.
The 34-year-old Hardy becomes the NBA’s youngest active head coach and received a five-year contract, the longest deal of any of this year’s new head coaches. The long-term agreement signals the Jazz have confidence in him to lead the team for years to come, even – or perhaps especially – if they pivot to a rebuild by trading not only Rudy Gobert but Donovan Mitchell.
Heat, Spurs To Play In Mexico City In December
The NBA will return to Mexico City this season for the first time since 2019, with the league confirming in a press release that the Heat and Spurs will play a regular season game at the Arena CDMX on December 17.
According to the NBA, the game will be the league’s 31st in Mexico over the last three decades — the Rockets and Mavericks played the first preseason game in Mexico back in 1992. The Spurs, who will likely be the “home” team, have made an effort to market themselves in the country in recent years, having also participated in games in Mexico in 2017 and 2019.
“We have played six games in Mexico City and every time thousands of Spurs fans showed up, making us feel loved and right at home,” Spurs CEO RC Buford said in a statement. “We are grateful for our loyal fans in Mexico and are thrilled for the opportunity to play in front of them as part of our 50th anniversary season. This is one way we continue to purposefully engage and celebrate our growing number of fans in Mexico.”
The COVID-19 pandemic derailed the NBA’s plans to play in international markets during the last couple seasons, but the league appears set to make up for lost time in 2022/23. In addition to the Mexico City showcase, the NBA has also announced a regular season game in Paris, as well as preseason contests in Abu Dhabi and Tokyo.