The Spurs will face the Indiana Pacers in games on Jan. 23 and 25. Both games will be available to watch free on KENS 5, the official station of the Spurs.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs are in the midst of their best season in several years, currently well positioned to at least reach the play-in tournament in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Much of that success has to do with the development of French superstar Victor Wembanyama.
Wemby, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is having one of the best sophomore seasons of all time, averaging 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a league-leading 4.1 blocks per game at the age of 21.
The only other player to put up those stats in a season? Arguably the greatest center of all-time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was 28 when he had similar stats en route to his fourth MVP award.
Do you know what Kareem wasn’t doing? Hitting 3.2 three pointers a game at 7’3″.
Wemby’s 4.1 blocks per game would be the highest average since the late Dikembe Mutombo had 4.5 blocks per game in the 1995-96 season, eight years before Wemby was born.


Basically, Wemby’s future looks more than bright in his second season.
As is the future of French basketball.
The rise of French players in the NBA
France (14 players) is the second-most represented non-U.S. country in the NBA behind Canada (21 players). This ties a record for the most French players in the NBA at one time.
French players in the league include established veterans like former DPOY Rudy Gobert and journeyman Nicolas Batum. The Washington Wizards themselves have two young French stars in 2023 No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr and 2023 No. 7 overall pick Bilal Coulibaly. (Ironically, the Wizards were the team Wembanyama had his first 50-point game against.)


But the real eye-opening thing is the number of highly drafted French players in recent years.
The No. 1 overall pick (Zaccharie Risacher) and No. 2 overall pick (Sarr) in the 2024 NBA Draft were both French. (Not to mention No. 6 overall pick Tidjane Salaun and No. 25 overall pick Pacome Dadiet)


With Wemby going No. 1 in 2023, this marks the second year in a row with a French player going No. 1 after there had never been a French player drafted first in NBA history.
This trend goes to show how much of a hot commodity French players have become. Even Guerschon Yabusele, who last played in the NBA during the 2019 season, earned his way back into the league following a strong Olympic performance in his home country this past summer.
Speaking of the Olympics, let’s just say there was a reason France earned the silver medal, losing to the U.S. in the gold medal game.
One can say that French basketball is on the rise.


Spurs in France vs. Indiana
Due to reasons like these and Wemby’s ongoing surge into superstardom, the NBA decided to give the Spurs two games in Paris this season as part of the NBA Paris Games 2025, both against the Indiana Pacers.
The games will take place Jan. 23 (1 p.m. CST on KENS 5) and Jan. 25 (11 a.m. CST on KENS 5) at the Accor Arena. It is the first time the NBA will play two regular-season games in Paris in the same season.
This isn’t the first time the Spurs have played in France. In 2003, they played a preseason game in Paris against Memphis, and in 2006, they played two exhibition games in Paris and Lyon against non-NBA opponents.
The difference this time around is that these games are part of the regular season against a hot Indiana Pacers team fresh off an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.


The Spurs also will be hosting two watch parties for the Jan. 25 game; one in San Antonio and one in Austin.
The San Antonio party will be held at The Rock at La Cantera, located at 1 Spurs Way. The Fan Fest watch party begins at 9:30 a.m., about an hour and a half before tipoff (11 a.m.). It will be hosted by Zay Zay with music by DJ Quake. There will be specialty French pastries and mimosas, while the first 100 fans in Spurs gear over the age of 21 will get a drink ticket for a mimosa. All ages are welcome.
The Austin party will be at Armadillo Den, located at 10106 Menchaca Rd. The watch party will start at 10:30 a.m., 30 minutes before tipoff. Music will be by DJ DMoney, and free coffee, macarons, French pastries and desserts will be offered. This event is for ages 21+ only.
To learn more about the watch parties, text PARIS to 210-444-5940 or online at Spurs.com/Paris.
Other Spurs connections to France
The Spurs were a seemingly clear choice for these games, not just because of Wemby, who is originally from Le Chesnay, France. San Antonio has had a soft spot for the French for a while now.
Former Spurs star Tony Parker is one of the most popular French players in NBA history and won four championships with the Silver & Black, including earning a Finals MVP Award in 2007. Those accomplishments, along with him being a six-time All-Star, led to his No. 9 being retired by the Spurs in 2019. In 2023, he was the first French player ever inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.
French forward Boris Diaw was an important Spurs rotation player during the dominant 2014 championship run alongside Parker.
Other French players who have suited up for the Spurs include Ian Mahinmi, Joffrey Lauvergne, Nando De Colo and currently Sidy Cissoko.


Another fun France-Spurs connection is the 1995 movie Forget Paris starring Billy Crystal and Debra Winger. The movie is about an NBA referee, played by Crystal, who meets an American Airlines official while he’s in Paris burying his father.
Spurs legends David Robinson and Sean Elliott make appearances in a scene where Crystal’s character makes a controversial call that causes the Spurs to win a playoff game against Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns.
(Viewer discretion: The following movie clip contains NSFW language.)
So let’s just say this probably won’t be the last time the NBA will make a stop in France, as the future of French basketball is as bright as it’s ever been.
Who knows, maybe Tony Parker won’t be the only French Spurs player to hoist the Finals MVP trophy.
To learn more about the 2025 Paris Games, click here.