NBA
Which teams will play in the 2024 NBA Mexico City Game?
The National Basketball Association decided that the Heat against the Wizards game will be played on November 2nd in the Mexico capital.
Once again, the NBA will be in Mexico with a regular season game. The Miami Heat and Washington Wizards will meet at the Mexico City Arena on Saturday, November 2. It will be the 33rd league game on national territory and the 14th of the regular season. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Kuzma, and Jordan Poole will accompany the great attraction, Jaime Jáquez Jr., who will appear for the first time in Mexico.
In addition to the fact that never before has a ‘tricolor’ basketball player active in the NBA played a regular season game in his homeland, until now, it will also be the first time that the NBA organizes an official duel on the Dia de los Muertos in Mexico. “We purposely wanted the NBA game to be on November 2. We want to celebrate Mexican culture. There is a coincidence of cultural elements we want to take advantage of around the game. The entire art guide is about the bread of the dead, the catrinas, the traditional colors of this festival, and the cempasúchil. It was something we wanted to do,” said Raúl Zárraga, general director of NBA Mexico, at a press conference at the inauguration of the NBA House facilities in the center of the national capital. Zárraga added that celebrating the Day of the Dead with NBA basketball attracted the teams and the Association’s office in New York: “The teams found a logic. “They were excited with the concept (...) I was able to explain to them what that emotion is that we experience in Mexico and how we celebrate this day differently than many cultures in the world.”
The fans at the CDMX Arena will finally be able to enjoy a Mexican basketball player, live and in full color, on the hardwood of an official NBA match. “People want to see Jaime Jáquez on the field. When traveling to Miami or the United States, seeing your favorite player, whoever it may be, is always difficult. With this, we do our bit to give them the opportunity. Miami has a particular interest in Hispanic culture, and we are always looking for different activities together: playing in Mexico is one of the best. It is a pleasant coincidence that Jaime is there and that Miami must return to Mexico,” Zárraga explained about the decision to include the Heat, for the third time, in the annual NBA itinerary at the CDMX Arena. The Florida team faced the Nets in 2017 and the San Antonio Spurs in 2022. The Wizards, on the other hand, will have their first Mexican experience.
The NBA used to hold two regular season games in Mexico until the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. For now, the office’s plans commanded by Zárraga are not to return to that role on the calendar. The main reason is that there are already 24 other NBA circuit games confirmed in CDMX, courtesy of Capitanes in the G League. “Our strategy is bringing live entertainment with an NBA experience. Before, yes, we had two games, but only those two; now there are 25, one from the NBA and 24 from the G League. Those who have been able to know that it is a unique experience to see Capitanes, with more affordable prices, with the opportunity to interact with the players, buy court seats, and see the best level of basketball. Our objectives are to maintain a match in Mexico, but yes, constantly,” Zárraga explained when asked by AS.
The pre-sale of tickets for fans will start on July 10 and 11, while the general sale will take place on the 12th of the same month.