NBA Mexico City Game 2025 Announced
The NBA has revealed the details of this year’s visit to Mexico City.
The NBA and entertainment company Zignia Live announced the details of the NBA Mexico City Game 2025 on Tuesday. The game is set at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, .
This year’s Mexico City game will mark the league’s 34th game in Mexico since 1992. The last time the NBA played in Mexico City was in 2023 when the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Orlando Magic 120 to 119.
Basketball and the NBA as a professional league have continued to grow globally. Since the 1970s, the NBA has played roughly 200 preseason games and 35 regular season games.
The NBA has made inroads in other global markets, with the NBA Paris Games running for the last three seasons. This upcoming preseason, NBA action will be seen in China, Abu Dhabi, and Japan. Australia will see the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA x NBL Melbourne Series, marking the first time the NBA has visited the country.
In April, League insider Marc Stein reported that the NBA is eyeing regular-season games in London. The NBA has visited London before, with a stretch of regular-season games from 2011 to 2019 (excluding 2012) played at the O2 Arena.
The NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver are adamant about the game’s global reach. The league’s efforts to play NBA games overseas are significant in achieving its goals. This strategy parallels the National Football League (NFL) and its efforts to grow its game, with seven games being played internationally in 2025.
The league featured 125 international players from 43 countries and territories in 2024-25. The last 6 NBA MVPs from 2019 are all global players (Nikola Jokic 3x, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2x, Joel Embiid 1x, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 1x).
Mexico City notably has its own NBA G-League team, the Mexico City Capitanes, which joined the league in the 2021-22 season. The team has featured former NBA players Juan Tuscano Anderson and Greg Brown III.
This year’s NBA Mexico City game will feature the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons. Fans in Mexico City will be treated to an intriguing matchup between two playoff-caliber teams.
NBA Latin America Senior Vice President and Head of Operations Raul Zarraga had this to say:
The Mavericks are coming off a historically dramatic 2024-25 season. The trade on Feb. 1st, sending four-time first-team All-NBA guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, shocked the world. Dallas, in return for their apparent franchise player, received 31-year-old Anthony Davis and young guard Max Christie.
Kyrie Irving, whom the Mavericks traded for in February 2023, tore his ACL in a March game against the Sacramento Kings. The now 33-year-old Irving was having a great season, averaging 24.7 points per game on 40.1% from three. Unfortunately for fans in Mexico City, he will be unavailable for the Nov 1st game due to the ACL tear.
The Dallas Mavericks are only a year removed from a run to the NBA Finals, where the Boston Celtics defeated them in five games. They finished at 39-43 in 2024-25, with their season-ending as the 10th seed in the play-in, losing to the Grizzlies in the second play-in game.
On the contrary, Mexico City fans will probably be given the privilege of watching Duke superstar Cooper Flagg. For context, the Dallas Mavericks won the 2025 NBA Draft lottery, receiving the 1st overall pick despite a 1.8% chance of getting it. Flagg is touted as a generational talent, and the 6’9 “forward is more than likely going to be picked by Dallas later this month.
The Detroit Pistons in 2024-25 went 44-38, losing the 1st round in 6 games to the New York Knicks. Pistons improved majorly from seasons past, going 94-290 since 2019-20. They lost a record 28-straight games in 2023-24 under head coach Monty Williams with a franchise-worst record of 14-68.
Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham was an NBA all-star and all-NBA third teamer this season, the first time in his career. Malik Beasley, who joined in the 2024 offseason, averaged 16.3 PPG, shooting a total of 319 threes, second in the NBA behind Anthony Edwards. Detroit is coached by J.B. Bickerstaff, former head coach of the Cavaliers. He was a worthy candidate for Coach of the Year, finishing second in the voting.
In addition to those three, Detroit features a solid young core of Jalen Duren, Ron Holland, Ausar Thompson, and Isaiah Stewart. Jaden Ivey, the third overall pick in 2022, dealt with injury this season, playing 30 games. He will also be one to watch in Mexico City.
Whether Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. will be Pistons next season is up for debate. The Pistons and Mavericks have some moves to make in the offseason.
Tickets to the NBA Mexico City Game 2025 will go on sale . The game will coincide with the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead .
The NBA and Zignia Live today announced that The NBA Mexico City Game 2025 will feature the @dallasmavs and the @DetroitPistons playing a regular-season game hosted by Zignia Live at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Complete release: https://t.co/tBBg0OZtZC pic.twitter.com/ENFK10uvD6
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 11, 2025
