NBA Paris Game

The NBA comes to the Accor Arena for a regular-season game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs, one of the most anticipated sporting events of the Paris winter.

For several seasons, the NBA has held one or more regular-season games in Paris every winter, a large-scale marketing operation that brings the entire set-up of an American game, pre-game ceremony included, to the heart of the French capital for one evening. The 2027 edition, scheduled for 14 January at the Accor Arena, sees the New Orleans Pelicans take on the San Antonio Spurs, in a particularly closely followed clash between two of the league's most talked-about young stars, with European interest amplified by the presence of Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs' French centre, who has become one of the most popular figures in world basketball in just a few seasons.

The Accor Arena, in the 12th arrondissement on the banks of the Seine at Bercy, is the reference venue for major sporting and music events in Paris, with a capacity of around twenty thousand depending on the configuration. For an NBA game, the entire American set-up is recreated on site: official court, animated advertising boards, half-time entertainment and reinforced security comparable to that deployed for the biggest international music tours that usually play this same venue.

The crowd expected for this game goes far beyond the usual sports audience: international visitors, particularly from North America, travel specifically for the occasion, with a high proportion combining the game with a stay of several days in Paris. The league's sponsors and partners also host private receptions and hospitality events alongside the game in nearby hotels and prestigious venues across the capital, generating a flow of journeys well beyond the tip-off time alone.

The Bercy area, well served by the metro (lines 6 and 14, Bercy station) and right next to the eastern Périphérique, usually absorbs the crowds of major concerts at the Accor Arena without major difficulty. An NBA game is different, however: unlike a concert, where the audience arrives gradually over several hours, the fixed tip-off time, generally set to allow television coverage at peak viewing hours in the United States, concentrates much of the crowd in a short window in the late afternoon and early evening.

General tickets for an NBA game in Paris traditionally sell out several weeks or even months before the event, with the most sought-after seats often booked as part of hospitality packages including VIP access, dining and sometimes a meeting with players or league legends invited for the occasion. These premium guests, used to a high level of service throughout their experience, naturally expect the same standard for their transport to and from the arena.

The end of the game, generally around 10pm or 11pm depending on the length of the game and the entertainment around it, is the most sensitive moment of the evening for transport: several thousand spectators are all looking for a way back to their hotel or the rest of their evening at the same time, in an area where taxis and ride-hailing services inevitably come under pressure from such concentrated demand.

For international visitors unfamiliar with Paris, coordinating the arrival at the airport (Charles de Gaulle for most intercontinental flights, Orly for some European routes) with the transfer to the hotel and then to the Accor Arena is worth planning when booking the trip, especially if the stay is centred on this single event with only a few days in the city.

LimoAirportGroup offers end-to-end organisation for this evening: airport transfer on arrival, chauffeur hire for the evening of the game with pick-up at the hotel, drop-off as close as possible to the Accor Arena VIP entrance depending on the type of ticket, and an immediate pick-up at the end to avoid waiting in the massive flow of spectators heading for the metro stations and taxi queues around the arena.