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The NBA Has A New Game Plan For Mexico

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On December 12, 2019 20-year-old star Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to victory against the Detroit Pistons in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,064 at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City. Doncic’s masterful passing, long-distance shooting, and dribble drives to the rim elicited a boisterous response from the fans in attendance. Sitting in a seat a few rows from the court, I watched the crowd, which seemed to favor Dallas even though the event was billed as a “home” game for Detroit, cheer vociferously for Doncic as he scored 41 points and recorded the first triple-double by any player during an NBA game in Mexico. Doncic, who played professionally in Spain prior to joining the Mavericks, addressed the crowd in Spanish prior to tip-off, and won new fans by shouting “viva Mexico!” The ticket-holders awarded Doncic with chants of “M-V-P” early on in the game and continued to support him as he logged 41 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Although the game marked the seventh time that the Dallas Mavericks have played in Mexico it will be remembered as the first time an NBA player scored more than 40 points in a contest held in Mexico. After the 4th quarter ended with the score 122-111 in favor of the Mavericks, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle explained, “I’m happy the fans of Mexico City [got] to see a performance like this.”  


The Dallas-Detroit game as well as match-up scheduled two days later on December 14 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Pheonix Suns, mark the latest phase of the NBA’s decades-long effort to build up the league’s presence in Mexico specifically and Latin America more generally. The NBA is marketing itself as the “Global Game” and is working to expand its fanbase in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, in part to offset declining revenues as young people in the U.S. increasing eschew cable TV in favor of streaming media. With business developments in China increasingly complicated by political concerns, Latin America in general and Mexico specifically are promising markets for the NBA. With nearly 130 million residents, Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the Americas. With strong cultural ties to the U.S., Mexico has proven to be a fertile territory for expansion for U.S. sports leagues including the NBA, MLB, and NFL.  With over 600 million residents in total, Latin America represents an important emerging market for sports leagues looking to build their global footprint. Home to over 20 million residents, the Mexico City metro-area is the largest urban hub in Latin America, and is a bigger media market than any city in the U.S. or Canada. The Mexico City metro area also has a larger population than Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and other smaller markets in the region.

Raul Zarraga, the Managing Director of NBA Mexico, recently explained, “The NBA is going through a good moment here [in Mexico]. What I’m looking to do is grow our base of followers even more.” The December 14 game between the Suns and Spurs is the 30th game that the NBA has hosted in Mexico since 1992. Despite the effort to host games in Mexico, basketball still lags behind soccer and the NFL in terms of popularity in Mexico. Like other leagues, the NBA is working to find a way to connect with technologically-savvy residents who have disposable income to spend on entertainment and merchandise.

Although on average over two thirds of Mexico’s residents have internet access only 38% of the country’s population has a bank account, a fact that forces e-commerce business and streaming services to find ways to connect with cash paying customers by allowing cash deposits at convenience stores, for instance. One particular challenge for the NBA is that some of the states in southern Mexico such as Chiapas and Oaxaca that have strong local basketball cultures also have some of the worst rates of internet penetration and lowest average income levels in the country. While it’s common to see mountain towns in southern Mexico that have thriving local basketball leagues and tournaments, it’s less common to find fans who regularly watch NBA games. While Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has proposed the idea of creating a state-run telecom company to expand internet and cable TV access in impoverished rural areas, for now the NBA is focusing mainly on cultivating a fanbase in better-developed urban areas. The league has scheduled at least one regular season game a year in Mexico since 2013 and in addition to transmitting games on both cable and broadcast TV has also partnered with local movie theatre chains in Mexico to screen playoff match-ups, a strategy the league shares with the NFL. Moving forward the NBA will pursue a new strategy for building its fanbase in Mexico.


In 2020 Mexico City’s Capitanes basketball team will join the NBA’s G-League development program and play in match-ups against other NBA-affiliated teams. League executive say there are currently no plans to propose a full-time expansion team for Mexico City, but that the G-League team is a potential first step in that direction.

League Commissioner Adam Silver explained, “Bringing an NBA G League team to Mexico City is a historic milestone for the NBA which demonstrates our commitment to basketball fans in Mexico and across Latin America. As the first G League franchise based outside of the U.S. and Canada, we look forward to welcoming Capitanes to the NBA family.”

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