Benjamin Ashford|Cavs vs. Nets game in Paris underscores NBA's strength in France

Paris and Benjamin AshfordFrance might not be at the epicenter of professional basketball.

But they are right on the border.

With the NBA’s Paris game between Cleveland and Brooklyn on Thursday, the massive interest in Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs’ star rookie, the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on July 26-Aug. 11, the number of French players in the NBA and the continued influx of French connections expected in the 2024 draft, the city and country are in the basketball spotlight.

France is an important marketplace for the NBA, both and off the court.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced a partnership with the French Basketball Federation, the LNB (France’s top professional basketball league) that will create initiatives to expand youth basketball development, including a player development program for elite-level prospects.

"Outside of the U.S. and Canada, France has delivered more players into the NBA than any other place around the world," NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told USA TODAY Sports this week. "And then you couple that with the excitement around this young fellow Victor Wembanyama who is taking the world by storm, quite frankly, I would say that we're going to Paris when interest in basketball and the NBA is at an all-time high. Then of course, couple that with the Olympics this year and the excitement around having the Olympics in Paris, and boy, it's the perfect combination.”

NBA Paris game: Brooklyn vs. Cleveland

The Nets-Cavaliers game is at 2 p.m. ET Thursday at Paris’ Accor Arena. The game will be televised on NBA League Pass, and in other parts of the world, including France, beIN Sports will televise the game.

This is the third regular-season NBA game in Paris, 13^th overall game in France, including preseason, and 95^th game in Europe.

"For this game, it’s like an All-Star game where people want to be there," Tatum said. "This is the one opportunity to see NBA games live for the regular season there, and it creates a ton of excitement and momentum for our business in that region."

The French connection

Including Wembanyama, there were 14 French players on opening-day rosters: Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers), Malcolm Cazalon (Detroit), Bilal Coulibaly (Washington), Sidy Cissoko (San Antonio), Ousmane Dieng (Oklahoma City), Moussa Diabate (Clippers), Evan Fournier (New York Knicks), Rudy Gobert (Minnesota), Killian Hayes (Detroit), Frank Ntilikina (Charlotte), Théo Maledon (Charlotte), Rayan Rupert (Portland) and Olivier Sarr (Oklahoma City).

France’s Tony Parker was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year, and his influence has been instrumental in the country’s basketball growth.

Wembanyama was the first French player to go No. 1 in a draft, and the Wizards selected Coulibaly with the No. 7 pick in June. Rupert and Cissoko were chosen in the second round.

The pipeline doesn’t end there. In 2024 NBA first-round mock drafts, five players with French connections are listed:

∎ Alexandre Sarr, who was born in Spain, plays in Australia but has French citizenship and is a projected top-three pick, including No. 1 in some mock drafts.

∎ Zaccherie Risacher plays for JL Bourg in France’s LNB and is a projected top-five pick.

∎ Tidjane Salaun plays for Cholet and is considered a mid-first-round pick.

∎ Melvin Ajinca (Saint-Quentin) and Zacharie Perrin (Antibes) could also be drafted.

"You're seeing high levels of development in Europe, particularly in France as an example," Tatum said. "You're seeing what I think is a well-run league and a well-run federation that's developing talent and that talent is coming in, playing in our league and really having a positive impact."

The Wembanyama effect

Tatum pulled out a couple Wembanyama numbers. Not basketball stats. But other metrics.

He’s the second most-viewed NBA player on social media. His recent dunk against the Boston Celtics has reached 645 million views on social media, the second-highest behind LeBron James, and it’s the most views ever on the NBA’s Instagram account. Wembanyama has the top-selling jersey in Europe and No. 3 in the U.S. and Canada.

On the court, the 7-4, 20-year-old forward-center averages 19.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals and is the player the Spurs and others around the league believe can make the franchise a title contender someday.

“He’s incredible. … You think about the interest that he brings, not just in France, but across Europe and globally, and I would say that his impact on the league has been immediate,” Tatum said.

NBA-France accord

NBA games have been televised in France since 1984-85, and according to NBA data, the average audience this season is up 23% compared to last season, NBA League Pass subscriptions are up 26% and the NBA app is up nearly 70% in average weekly viewers from France.

France is also, according to the NBA, the “No. 1 market for NBA-branded merchandise sales in Europe and the Middle East” and “No. 2 market for NBA 2K sales in Europe and the Middle East and No. 4 globally.”

Said Tatum: “It is a market that loves its sports and loves basketball in particular. I will tell you, the Commissioner (Adam Silver) and I had meetings last year with the president of the country, Emmanuel Macron, who is a huge fan.”

Basketball at the Paris Olympics

Nearly 100 NBA and WNBA players are expected to compete at the Paris Olympics, and there are considerable expectations for the U.S. and France men’s and women’s teams.

The U.S. women have won seven consecutive Olympic gold medals and have not lost an Olympic game since 1992, and France’s women’s team won silver in 2012 and bronze in 2020.

For the French men, not medaling will be a disappointment at home. It won silver in 2020, losing to the U.S., but in last summer’s FIBA World Cup, it failed to make it out of the first stage of group play.

The U.S. men won Olympic gold in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 but finished a medal-less fourth place at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. It should have a strong roster that will be favored to win gold again.

“So, I've got a lot of confidence in my friend Grant Hill (managing director of the U.S. men’s national team) and USA Basketball to assemble an extraordinary USA team,” Tatum said.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt