NBA could swap London for Paris in 2020

Paris, Jan 18: The NBA could be heading to Paris next year instead of London, Adam Silver has revealed.

A solitary regular-season games has taken place in the English capital every year since 2013, while the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors played back-to-back fixtures in the United Kingdom in 2011.

The last time the NBA went to France was when the New York Knicks faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010, but NBA commissioner Silver revealed a return could be on the cards in 2020.

Asked about the potential of a game being played in Paris ahead of the Knicks' meeting with the Washington Wizards at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday, he told a news conference: "I'm told I'm not allowed to break news today, but yes, it is possible.

"It's something we're looking at very closely, playing a game in Paris next season.

"France has historically been a terrific market for the NBA. We've played many exhibition games in Paris over the years, I remember being there with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

"We took a number of years off because your arena got renovated. We're looking forward to returning."

On whether the match in Paris would be in addition to another in London, he added: "That is not clear yet. It's a very labour intensive undertaking to bring regular-season games to Europe.

"Right now, we're thinking the format will be to have one game next year."