BanderasNews
Puerto Vallarta Weather Report
Welcome to Puerto Vallarta's liveliest website!
Contact UsSearch
Why Vallarta?Vallarta WeddingsRestaurantsWeatherPhoto GalleriesToday's EventsMaps
 NEWS/HOME
 EDITORIALS
 ENTERTAINMENT
 VALLARTA LIVING
 PV REAL ESTATE
 TRAVEL / OUTDOORS
 HEALTH / BEAUTY
 SPORTS
 THE RAP
 LOCAL SPORT REPORT
 THE AMERICAS REPORT
 DAZED & CONFUSED
 PHOTOGRAPHY
 READERS CORNER
 BANDERAS NEWS TEAM
Sign up NOW!

Free Newsletter!

Puerto Vallarta News NetworkSports 

NBA Plans to Put a Minor League Team in Mexico City

December 11, 2017

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and some of his Nets teammates greeting fans in Mexico City on Wednesday. The Nets played two regular-season games there last week. (Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

Mexico City - Before the first of two N.B.A. regular season games were played in Mexico City last week, league Commissioner Adam Silver said that the National Basketball Association intends to move quickly to put a N.B.A. G League franchise in the Mexican capital as early as next season.

A team in the G League, which serves as the N.B.A.'s official minor league, would be owned and operated locally. Silver was in Mexico City to meet with local parties interested in owning the franchise, while the Nets, Thunder and Heat were there to take part in the Mexico City Global Games.

Establishing a G League franchise on Mexican soil would be the latest serious step by the N.B.A. in its efforts to gain a foothold in Mexico and gauge the viability of putting an N.B.A. team in the largest market in Latin America.

While stressing that his league is not actively pursuing expansion or relocation for any of its 30 current franchises, Silver has described Mexico City as a natural contender for an eventual N.B.A. team. "Mexico is a flourishing basketball market with growing fan interest and increased youth participation," he said.

This comes just a few weeks after a report from ESPN.com's Jonathon Givony said that the league was planning to announce a development and training academy in Mexico City. The NBA currently has six academies already, with one in Australia, one in India, one in Senegal and three in China.

Sources: Sports IllustratedThe New York Times