Paris Saint-Germain has set its sights on the NBA

Last Friday, the Paris Saint-Germain website and social profiles were buzzing with excitement. The anticipation of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia landing in the French capital, brought in from Napoli for €75 million, drove a flood of fans and insiders to PSG platforms waiting for the “Khvicha est Parisien” to arrive late in the evening. In between the refreshments, a very different kind of official communiqué appeared in the afternoon, with which the club lifted the curtain on a new partnership conceived and inaugurated on the occasion of the NBA Paris Games 2025. The partner: the San Antonio Spurs, an American basketball club that is particularly popular in these latitudes, partly for historical reasons (read: Tony Parker) and partly because of the little topicality that can be given to a first and last name: Victor Wembanyama.

Last night at the Parc des Princes, there were a number of extraordinary guests who were caught on camera several times during the Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. In addition to new signing Kvaratskhelia, who is expected to make his debut in the new shirt, several members of the Spurs squad were in the stands, including local hero Wembanyama.

One thing is for sure: the visit brought Donnarumma and his team-mates luck, as they won a potentially decisive game for their European journey with a 4-2 comeback. And as the saying goes, “Good luck!": The sentiment will be reciprocated tonight when the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers square off at the Accor Arena for the usual overseas matchup - this time a true tour of two challenges - featuring high-calibre basketball. The perfect opportunity to connect two worlds, that of the NBA and that of the Parisian club, which have often spoken the same language in recent times. To get an idea of the collaboration between PSG and the Spurs, we listened to the words of the respective CEOs and took a look at the special collection that was presented yesterday at the Parisian club's flagship store on Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

The lifestyle collection

A first aspect of the collaboration concerns the involvement of the local fan community, with a particular focus on inclusion, which is promoted through the collaboration with “PSG for Communities” and “Spurs Community Leadership Institute". The two programmes, which were created to turn the popularity of their respective teams into a catalyst for social causes, have launched a series of events to promote the development of women's sport and meetings to stimulate debate on the subject.

The collaboration will be celebrated with a limited edition collection available exclusively in PSG city shops from 21 to 26 January. A range of T-shirts and sweatshirts in which the two brands have blended their respective visual identities. Et voilà: the Eiffel Tower next to Spurs, the words “Paris Spurs 2025” and an unprecedented logo combining the PSG crest with a Belle Époque recreation of the Spurs crest

“As a global organisation, the Spurs are keen to make connections that extend beyond the court,” said R.C. Buford, CEO of the San Antonio Spurs. “This partnership underscores the importance of connecting with the Parisian community and fans while celebrating a shared love of sports with a prestigious organisation like Paris Saint-Germain. Our goal is to build lasting relationships here in France and inspire the next generation of local athletes and fans”

The Spurs in Paris

On the one hand, the Texan franchise aims to continue building its popularity in France. The legacy that Tony Parker and Boris Diaw left as a dowry, which now passes into the infinite hands of Wembanyama, is to be continued. From the 2023 draft onwards, the rise of the prodigy has opened up huge opportunities for San Antonio, which the league has clearly capitalised on - one could even say rode - by taking part in this year's NBA Paris Games.

To get an idea of what “Wemby mania” means commercially, a few numbers will help. In the last twenty-four months, Spurs merchandise sales in France have increased by 3,000 per cent (yes, three thousand per cent), and at the same time the entire league has grown in awareness (+26 per cent NBA League Pass subscriptions) and popularity. According to a recent survey conducted by Odoxa, more than half (56 per cent) of the country's total population knows Wembanyama, and 31 per cent of those under 50 say they are “interested in the NBA”; a figure that rises to 37 per cent in the Paris area, where the Spurs' No. 1 was born and raised (humanly and basketball-wise) and where he even won his first Olympic medal in recent months. On the other side, however, is Paris Saint-Germain, the most “NBA-friendly” football club in the world. And for obvious reasons, in this case also the most willing, suitable and above all most interested ambassador - the local megaphone of the San Antonio Spurs brand, so to speak.

PSG and the NBA

It's not the first time PSG's name has been associated with an NBA basketball club, and we know it won't be the last. Ever since the Parisian team signed with Jordan Brand, we have been used to such collaborations or even joint activities with NBA teams that come to the “Paris Games” every year. You might remember Mbappé, Neymar, Icardi, Thiago Silva and Verratti in the front row at the 2020 Bucks-Hornets game or Giannis Antetokounmpo dribbling in the changing room at the Parc des Princes. Incidentally, this year PSG winked at the NBA audience by taking part in the All-Star Game vote on social media. Since then, the club's presence has been a classic of the Parisian “NBA Weeks",” both through the participation of its athletes and through various off-court activities. It was the same last year and the year before - in short, when NBA stars come to Europe, Paris Saint-Germain is in the front row.

All this doesn't just happen because it's the home team. According to a YouGov report, PSG is currently the second most popular team on the North American continent, behind only Real Madrid. Five years ago, PSG would not even have made it into the top ten of this ranking, let alone in the period before Al-Khelaifi's arrival. The club is clearly targeting a global audience and has been moving in that direction for some time: it is showing a growing interest in the US market and has found its own very solid international dimension overseas (perhaps even more so than in Europe, where the pull is not far from Paris). “We are delighted to be working with the San Antonio Spurs,” confirmed Paris Saint-Germain CEO Victoriano Melero, emphasising that these partnerships give all parties the opportunity to expand their reach and reach new audiences. “With the FIFA Club World Cup taking place in the USA next summer,” ”we are paving the way for new cross-border initiatives," said Melero.