The NBA’s interest in Paris is no longer theoretical. League leadership has been consistent in public comments: Paris is a priority market as conversations continue around a NBA-backed European league.
What remains undecided is not the city, but the structure. Specifically, who the NBA partners with, and how that partnership fits both global ambitions and local credibility.
One name keeps surfacing in those conversations: Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
NBA Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum has been direct about why PSG is appealing.
“Paris is a market we absolutely want to be in,” Tatum said. “One of the things that is very intriguing about PSG is their ability to build brand, culture and community.”
PSG’s global marketing success, cultural relevance, and international reach align cleanly with the NBA’s modern expansion strategy. The league is not simply looking for venues or municipal support. It is looking for partners who understand how to turn sport into a global platform.
What has drawn less attention is that PSG would not be entering basketball in Paris for the first time.
A History That Never Fully Disappeared
In the early 1990s, PSG formally entered professional basketball through a merger with Paris Basket Racing, creating PSG-Racing. At the time, it represented the most ambitious basketball project the city had seen, backed by serious investment and national visibility.
That entity eventually dissolved, but its lineage continued. Paris Basket Racing evolved through restructurings and relocations over the following decades, maintaining a continuous presence in French basketball.
Today, that lineage is widely recognized as flowing through Levallois Metropolitans.
As the NBA evaluates Paris, that continuity matters.
Why Continuity Matters to the NBA
The NBA has been clear that Europe will not be treated as a collection of experimental franchises. Expansion will be deliberate, brand-driven, and culturally grounded.
In that context, Levallois offers something no other Paris-area option can.
A partnership between PSG and Levallois would not be framed as an entry into unfamiliar territory, but as a return. It allows PSG to reconnect with its basketball past while giving the NBA a Paris presence rooted in history rather than invention.
By contrast, launching a new club from scratch would require explaining why that existing lineage was ignored. For a league that places emphasis on authenticity and narrative, that is an avoidable complication.
A Club Positioned for What Comes Next
Levallois is not merely a historical throughline. It is an active, competitive force in French basketball today.
The club currently sits at the top of their standings, positioned for promotion and already operating within the rhythms, expectations, and economics of the French professional league system. That matters. It means Levallois is not an abstract candidate or a speculative vehicle, but a club already succeeding inside the ecosystem the NBA would ultimately intersect with.
In practical terms, this places the Levallois Metropolitans ahead of any hypothetical Paris entrant that would need to build sporting credibility, league relationships, and institutional trust from scratch. From the NBA’s perspective, that reduces friction. From PSG’s perspective, it means alignment with a basketball operation that is already performing, not rebuilding its relevance.
This is not potential. It is positioning.
A Club Built for the Modern Sports Economy
Beyond history, Levallois also reflects the direction the NBA is moving in today.
The club is no longer defined solely by wins and losses. Its ownership structure and strategic orientation place it within a broader media and cultural ecosystem, one that recognizes basketball as both competition and content.
That includes a minority ownership stake in the club’s holding entity by Catch12, the media company Ja Morant is a co-founder of. The connection situates Levallois within a global storytelling framework that blends athlete influence, digital media, and international fan engagement.
For a league that increasingly views growth through culture, media, and community, that alignment is notable. It signals a club that understands how modern sports organizations operate beyond the court.
A Modern Club, Responsibly Operated
While Levallois carries historical weight, it is not burdened by legacy inefficiencies.
Under new ownership, the club has been restructured to operate lean, disciplined, and responsibly, with a focus on sustainability rather than short-term spectacle. Costs are controlled. Governance is clear. Decision-making is aligned with long-term value creation rather than vanity outcomes.
That profile matters in the context of PSG.
PSG has demonstrated that modern football clubs are no longer standalone sporting entities, but integrated platforms spanning competition, media, culture, and global brand. Levallois now reflects that same philosophy at a basketball level, making it structurally compatible with how PSG already operates across sport and culture.
Rather than requiring transformation, Levallois offers a foundation. One that could be integrated into a broader Paris sports ecosystem without dilution, reinvention, or reputational risk.
The Path That Requires the Fewest Assumptions
None of this guarantees an outcome. PSG has options. The NBA has leverage. Europe presents complexity.
But when viewed through the lenses the league itself has emphasized – brand strength, cultural relevance, global reach, and local legitimacy – the logic converges.
Levallois offers:
A direct historical link to PSG’s basketball past
An established Paris-area basketball identity
Alignment with modern media-driven sports models
A clean narrative of return rather than replacement
For PSG, it preserves credibility.
For the NBA, it reduces risk.
For Paris, it connects past and future without erasing either.
As NBA Europe moves from concept toward execution, some paths create questions.
This one answers them.
Trey Draper is a best selling author, ESPN college basketball analyst, and elite player development coach whose work spans grassroots basketball through the NBA. A Memphis native, he has trained more than 35 NBA and WNBA players and partnered with Nike Basketball on youth and international development.
