“It’s going to be okay for the Cavs. I think they will win,” guessed Kylian Mbappé, on beIN SPORTS, arriving at the Accor Arena. A big NBA fan, the PSG striker was right: with a great, enormous, exceptional Donovan Mitchell, author of 45 points, including 21 in the last quarter, Cleveland dominated Brooklyn on Thursday (111-102) , during the third regular season match of the North American league organized in Paris. Not the last, we know. The NBA will definitely return next year, most likely with… the Spurs. “I can’t confirm anything, but we’re thinking about it,” smiled the big boss of the NBA, Adam Silver, several times during this American week in Paris.
Some sources suggest that the U Arena in La Défense could take precedence over the POPB. Mr. Silver above all indicated that the hypothesis of seeing not one but two matches is not excluded. “We thought about offering more matches. In terms of efficiency, given the scale of the operation of bringing two teams here, we have had conversations with teams who, once here, could play a second match against each other before returning to the United States. “It’s something we’re potentially even considering for next season,” David Stern’s successor said. The NBA had already organized two regular season matches in two days, it was in London, in 2011. Tony Parker got a little confused on Canal, seeming to confirm that San Antonio will indeed play two matches in Paris, but the league blows that there is nothing more to say than what Adam Silver declared to journalists at a press conference.
One thing is certain: we have no doubt that the “Wemby” effect would fill Bercy twice. Twice Nanterre too? Madness would take over the capital, that’s for sure. And the room would take up the cause of the Texans. That would be fire! The main person concerned can already be seen there. “I would be very lucky if it happens, it would be special, with the home advantage in a way (smile). It would be one of the most intense, most valuable matches of my life if it happens,” said the giant (2.24m) on Wednesday, after his first triple-double, in Detroit (130-108 victory).
While waiting for the Wembanyama madness, the Cleveland-Brooklyn match unleashed less passions, let’s be honest. Already because there was neither superstar nor French in the ranks of the two teams. And what’s more, there was no match. At least, not for three quarters. Cleveland started very strong (18-6), with only Cam Thomas to operate artificial respiration on the Brooklyn side. 22 in the first period, 26 in the second. We long believed in a quiet end to the match for the Cavs, despite Cam Thomas, again, who signed the action of the evening, a crazy dunk in traffic. Brooklyn, however, found a way to get back to -10 and the tone seriously rose. Large crowd, tension, start of scuffle. Tristan Thompson even being excluded. It had the merit of waking up everyone, players and spectators. There was a match! But Donovan Mitchell showed his class to calm the enthusiasm of the Nets and put the lid on (111-102 final score). What a festival of old Jazz!
For the rest, it was classic, square, the NBA knows how to do it. Mascots, cheerleaders, various and varied activities… The whole lot. And the 100,000 euro shoot too. The man named Quentin was not far from the mark. He still left with a check for 10,000 euros for a successful three-point shot. He will remember it for a while…
Not sure that the rest of the audience will have lasting memories of the evening. Remember that the NBA organized a certain number of events across Paris throughout the week. The players from both teams say they enjoyed this moment which allowed them to strengthen ties and train more than would have been the case in the United States. In the meantime, many stars have responded, Mbappé and several of his PSG teammates, but also the Brazilian Ronaldo, the former Parisians Javier Pastore and David Beckham, Pharrell Williams and Matt Pokora. As for the former basketball glories, we saw Tony Parker, Anderson Varejao, Channing Frye, Sabina Ionescu, Thabo Sefolosha and the French Kevin Séraphin, Ian Mahinmi, Mike Piétrus and Joakim Noah. The NBA also saw fit to show Jose Calderon on the big screens at the Accor Arena. The Spaniard was obviously whistled by the public, the Franco-Spanish rivalry being firmly anchored in French heads and hearts.
Can’t wait for next year, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs set the Parisian boards ablaze. On Wednesday, Adam Silver hoped for a quick formalization. A matter of months? More like weeks. We will then have to wait a year to see this. But first, basketball fans will have plenty to do with the Olympic Games. Barring injury, “Wemby” will be there. A priori, Team USA will arrive with all its stars. It promises.
