Bonjour! Pacers arrive in Paris
Day 1 of Paris is complete for the Pacers and Spurs. Both teams arrived, got some work done on the court, then experienced the city.
PARIS — Hello from France. That’s a pretty cool thing to write.
The Indiana Pacers are on their first international trip in more than five years. You have to go back to 2019 when they faced the Sacramento Kings in what was the league’s first games in India.
However, that was just a pair of preseason games. This is the real deal. These games matter and impact the standings.
This is a special opportunity for the players and their teams.
The timing of the original announcement by the NBA, however, was not ideal. It was back on April 29, hours before the Pacers hosted the Bucks in Game 4 of their first playoff series since 2020. Therefore I didn’t have time to write about it and I think it got lost — even though it’s massive for the organization that they’re facing the Spurs in the fourth Paris games.
The games will be played on Thursday and Saturday inside Accor Arena, located five miles east of the team hotel. It will be played in primetime here in Paris, but 2 p.m. and noon ET, respectively, back home. (We’re six hours ahead here.)
The Pacers will wear their gold statement edition uniforms for both games.
🛫 Taking Off
In an effort to maximize sleep, the Pacers departed Indianapolis International Airport after 10 p.m. on Sunday. They arrived around noon local time and began their day on an active Monday morning in Paris.
This time, the Pacers arrived on a Delta a330-300 jet — which is much different than the dazzling Crystal Skye Boeing 777-200LR, the largest private aircraft in the industry, they took to India. This flight was half the time, however.
The Pacers’ typical traveling party was joined by their significant others, along with ownership, business executives, corporate partners, game operations and entertainment staff, members of the Pacemates, stats crew, and more.
Each of them were given a special black Pacers winter coat for the trip.
Also a nice touch: the Pacers brought with them all three players on two-way contracts (Quenton Jackson, Enrique Freeman, and RayJ Dennis), plus the two injured centers: Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman.
The game on Thursday is a Pacers home game so they’re going to treat it as such, giving international fans a taste of what goes on inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“The Pacers enjoy tremendous support from fans globally, and we are excited about the opportunity to be a part of the NBA’s efforts to continue bringing the game to new generations of fans all around the world,” team president Kevin Pritchard said in a statement.
Being a major city, there’s always something going on. It’s also Paris Fashion Week for menswear, which has to be intriguing for Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner — both of whom have elevated their fashion game in recent years.
In case you haven’t read these stories:
Haliburton on how his fashion has evolved and the statement it makes
Turner on fashion and his sister working in the industry as a model
Upon arriving on Monday, the Pacers went to the gym to allow for players to move, get shots up, and break a sweat after being on the flight overnight.
👑 Wemby Effect
The Pacers and Spurs will be playing, but let’s be clear: this is happening for 7-foot-5 phenom Victor Wembanyama. This had to be under consideration from the moment he was the Spurs’ top pick in the 2023 draft, a chance for him to return home with his teammates and play a game for his people. Most of whom will never see him play in the United State.
This will be the first time there are two regular-season games in Paris in the same season. And for Wemby, there obviously is a sense of pride from locals, not just sports enthusiasts. They saw what he did during the Olympics and many follow from afar what he’s doing in San Antonio — but this will allow a crowd of about 15,000 to see him up close and in a Spurs uniform.
“The way I approach this trip is my way of giving back a little to the French public, trying to please many people who will never have the chance to go to the United States,” he said after touching down in Paris and visiting his former gym in nearby Nanterre.