The Paris Game 2023 and the Bulls set the AccorArena on fire
Aurélien Canot, Media365, published on Thursday January 19, 2023 at 11:41 pm
For the return of the NBA to Paris, three years later, Chicago clearly dominated, as expected, the Detroit of Frenchman Killian Hayes in an AccorArena full of basketball fans but also many celebrities, who got full eyes too. That’s good: the capital should very quickly accept a new Paris NBA Game.
Just like three years ago, between Charlotte and Milwaukee for the first regular season game in history to be moved to the French capital, in 2020, the score does not matter in this “NBA Paris Game 2023”. But since the result is anything but anecdotal however (Paris now hosts official matches and not pre-season, as was the case a few years ago), know that Chicago, the favorite of this match in between the 10th and the last of the Eastern Conference, clearly surpassed Detroit (126-108), as expected. The Bulls and their leading scorer of the night Zach LaVine (30 points) like the Pistons will now return to the United States and there the NBA season will continue. Paris, for its part, slept again with stars in its eyes and the satisfaction of having crunched the space for a night in the prestigious cake of the biggest basketball league in the world. A rare privilege that France can now be proud of, particularly appreciated by Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA. On the sidelines of this “NBA Paris Game 2023”, Thursday night on the floor of the AccorArena, Tony Parker, who comes from the Rhône with his family, expressed his optimism about the return of the great North American barnum in the next year for a new regular season appointment. The Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra continued to give the appointment next January for the third edition of the NBA Paris Game.
The NBA can do it again next year…
“It’s not every day that you can have an NBA game in Paris, it reminds me of when I came to see Michael Jordan at the McDonald Open (…) The French market has always been very important for the NBA” , had meanwhile. recalled Parker, four-time NBA champion with San Antonio, on be Sports, before returning, before kick-off, this time with two of the expected heroes of the night, the Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic (Chicago) and his perfect French (“Bonsoir Paris, thank you for coming so many”) and the region of stage (he was born in Florida but from Paris) and Pistons leader Killian Hayes, ovation at home. “I am very happy to be here with my team, I hope everyone is going to have a good evening”, thanks the former player of Cholet, encouraged to go through “TP”: “Killian, we have to ensure tonight ” Hayes, but very fit at the beginning of the year, could do better (4 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists – best scorer of the game – in 31 minutes). He and his teammates, although clearly dominated by the Bulls, nevertheless entertained, in the same way as their opponents, the many spectators present, who were amazed, especially in the two alleys that were so beautiful. Among the many French NBA fans present, the VIPs are few and far between, but this American show cannot be missed for anything in the world.
When Magic Johnson met Wembanyama…
Our F1 champions Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly and Monegasque Charles Leclerc were among the celebrities present courtside. Cyril Gane was also there, as was actor and humorist Thomas Ngijol. Blues and Real Madrid footballer Aurélien Tchouameni was also present. But he is one of those fans who wakes up at night to watch the games, and not just when the play-offs start. Victor Wembanyama, who came as a neighbor, shook Adam Silver’s hand to officially accept him with his stars from the next draft. The legendary Magic Johnson also announced that he wanted to congratulate the new nugget of French basketball. He did it. Because like former Bulls star Ben Wallace, he also went to Bercy, where he was entitled to his ovation and his passing on the big screen in the room. Joakim Noah, who lived his best time in the NBA in Chicago, did not escape him either. No more than the singer Pharrell Williams or another football player, the Italian Marco Verratti (PSG), who also played at home on Thursday this evening than Killian Hayes, for the first time on the bill in his country since he came to the NBA, will never forget. “It’s strange to be there in the middle of the season, I usually go there in the summer. My friends and my family are there. It’s incredible” Especially because it can become a habit for the Parisian public. And that, too, is pretty incredible. One thing is certain: Paris is asking for more.
