NBA expands into Mexico with G League team, real NBA team next?


By ALAN WALLS

Welcome to the third edition of The International Basketball Opinion, the world’s newest and only blog specifically dedicated to international basketball current events and news.

It has been speculated and rumored for years. Now the NBA finally made it official last month during its annual NBA Mexico City Games. The NBA will finally have a team in Mexico, the largest market in Latin America… an NBA G League team that is.

On December 12 in Mexico City prior to the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons game, in an announcement that was somewhat lost in the holiday season shuffle, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called it a "historic milestone for the NBA."

Not exactly what Mexican basketball fans had hoped for, but it is a start.

Is this the NBA’s way of testing the markets of Mexico City (20 million population) and that of the entire country (120-130 million)… and all Latin America for that matter?

I guarantee you it is! And a smart move at that.

Serving as the NBA guinea pigs will be the Capitanes (Captains) of Mexico City, founded in 2016 and a current member of Mexico’s national professional league (LNBP). The team has a five-year agreement to participate in the NBA’s developmental league (formerly known as the D League). The Capitanes will start play in the 2020-2021 season which tips off in November.

Five years will give the NBA plenty of market research data on important topics such as the long-term interest amongst Mexican fans and their willingness to support a team, TV, sponsorship and advertising potential, team travel to and from Mexico City, player housing and security concerns, traffic issues, the effects of Mexico City’s altitude (2,000 feet higher than Denver) and poor air quality on player health and production, etc.

If the NBA were to expand to Mexico how would it work?

With 30 existing teams, the last expansion took place in 2004 with the Charlotte Bobcats, now Hornets, in order to balance the conferences and the schedule, there would have to be a second expansion team and the conferences must remain balanced. It is believed by many in the business that Seattle is the next city in line to receive a team (again).

Seattle would obviously be in the Western Conference. Mexico City, on the same longitude basically as Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Oklahoma City, would also have to be placed in the west. They are not an eastern team.

How could that work? One current Western Conference team then would have to be moved to the Eastern Conference. But who? My suggestion would be the Memphis Grizzlies, being that they are the most eastern Western Conference team, geographically speaking.

This would also be a good time for the NBA to get rid of the no longer necessary divisions within the two conferences.

Does it make sense for the NBA to at least try it out?

Of course, why not?

By doing it in the G League with an already existing team owned by Mexicans, there is relatively little risk involved. Mexico, and all Latin America, is a HUGE, and still rather virgin, market for the league. It makes sense geographically as Mexico City is in the US Central Time Zone and the travel distance to Mexico City is like that of other NBA cities for many teams.

If all goes well, I believe we will see an NBA franchise in Mexico City in five years time.

PS: Mexican Carlos Slim, with his deep pockets as one of the world’s wealthiest men, should be the majority owner and 12-year NBA veteran Eduardo Najera would be a great choice as the team’s first General Manager!

Here are links to articles I recommend on the announcement and the prospects:

NBA.com official release


ESPN.com: Mexico City-based team to join G League in 2020-21 season


New York Times (2017): An N.B.A. Team in Mexico City: How Realistic Is That?


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The international Basketball Opinion is the first blog of its kind, focused exclusively on the international basketball scene. Its author, Alan Walls, is an American basketball coach and administrator with over 25 years of experience on the youth, high school, NCAA, professional and national team levels in 15 countries and on all five continents.  Walls has worked with the national federations of Turkey, Romania, Palestine, Mongolia and El Salvador as well as coached or conducted camps and clinics throughout the United States – including his native Hawaii – Mexico, Argentina, China, Hong Kong, Kenya and Israel. Walls is the founder and General Secretary of the United Nations of Basketball (2020 launch).

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