The Miami Heat will take on the Brooklyn Nets in Mexico City this December as the NBA measures fan support south of the border.
Wall or no wall, the Miami Heat will head to Mexico for a game this regular season.
The NBA announced that the Heat and Brooklyn Nets will play a regular-season contest in Mexico City on December 9, 2017, at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
It will be the first time the Heat play a regular season game in a country other than the United States or Canada.
“We are thrilled to be able to participate in the NBA Mexico City Games,” said team president Pat Riley, via a statement from the team. “The game of basketball is truly a global game and we are proud to be a part of its return to Mexico City. We look forward to our first-ever regular season game there and bringing the HEAT experience to our fans in Mexico.”
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In addition to hosting the Heat, the Nets will also host the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 7. The games will count as home games for Brooklyn, so Miami won’t lose a home game on its schedule.
The games will mark the first time the NBA has hosted four regular-season contests in Mexico in the same calendar year. Last January, the Phoenix Suns played the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs in Mexico City.
The games will be broadcast live by ESPN and Televisa in Mexico and will be available on the NBA App.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has mentioned in the past that the league may look to expand outside the United States and Canada, and Mexico could be an option. These games could act as a litmus test to measure fan support in Mexico City, which could be a possible destination for an expansion team.