Euro Step: Five Takeaways From My First NBA Game In London

After seven years without an NBA London Game, British basketball fans in the UK could have been forgiven for a lack of interest in a regular-season game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic. However, even long before a reported sellout crowd filled O2 Arena for a 5 p.m. local time tip-off on Jan. 18, it was clear that there was still plenty of enthusiasm for the league in London. In fact, the evening offered another tantalizing glimpse of what a prospective European club league could look like.

On Sunday night, three days after these same two teams met 700 miles away in Berlin — the league’s first regular-season game in Germany — the Grizzlies earned a split of the European road trip by beating the Magic 126-109. This was just the 10th regular-season NBA game to be played in London but the first since before the pandemic. Next season the league has plans for its first regular-season game in Manchester, England, as well as a return to Paris, which has hosted the second-most NBA games in Europe.

If all goes according to plan, those would be the final games in Europe before the NBA launches its own much-discussed 16-team league made up entirely of European clubs.

I made my way to O2 Arena on Sunday to sample the atmosphere for what amounted to far more than just an fun one-off on the schedule amidst the long NBA season.

Despite arriving more than three hours early in an attempt to avoid the longest queues, the buzz and anticipation in the air from supporters was palpable from the moment I ventured up from North Greenwich Underground Station. The demographics of the fans making the trip up to the capital too were instantly striking — young and old, male and female, first-timers and basketball devotees — and it was impossible not to be taken in by the branded billboards and the colorful mix of jerseys on display (the Magic seemed to hold a slight numeric advantage).

Once in the arena, the players emerged to a cacophony of noise, cheers and chants — that in itself a reflection of the growing knowledge and passion for the sport from fans on this side of the pond.

It all made for an impressive spectacle of the league’s global appeal. Here are five major takeaways from my five hours inside the fantastic world of the NBA.

Star Power

Even though the first NBA games in Europe were held 42 years ago, organizers here spared no expense in tapping into the legacy of the sport to attract new fans, both to the league and to basketball itself.

One by one, an honor roll of illustrious players who made the trip were introduced to the crowd, including Basketball Hall of Famers Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Isiah Thomas. Among the famous faces spotted in the crowd were former Arsenal and Barcelona star Thierry Henry and Hollywood star Rosamund Pike.

Looking ahead, the big screen promoted the league’s upcoming All-Star festivities, which will take place in the Los Angeles area next month — and the online broadcast options also available through the NBA League Pass to drum up support from those inside the arena who may never have watched an NBA game in the States before.

If this was all part of the NBA’s charm offensive to get fans on its side, it may have done the trick.

Buzz and Boos

The London game lacked the drama from three days earlier at Berlin’s Uber Arena, when the Grizzlies built a 20-point lead in the first half before the Magic rallied to win in overtime. That game benefited from the crowd support generated by the homecoming of Orlando’s trio of German players (Franz Wagner, Moe Wagner and Tristan da Silva), while there were no British-born players on either roster for Sunday’s game.

Still, the biggest cheers of the evening for players were reserved for Grizzlies All-Star point guard Ja Morant — the subject of recent trade rumors — and Magic small forward Franz Wagner on his return to Europe. The booming rendition of Neil Diamond’s ‘”Sweet Caroline” was a guaranteed way to get the British fans on their feet, and sure enough produced the loudest noise in the venue all day.

One sour note for NBA organizers came from the audible booing of the U.S. national anthem, which was performed by singer and actress Vanessa Williams. The boos erupted after shouts of “Leave Greenland alone!” could be heard from inside the arena — a nod to President Donald Trump‘s bid to acquire the autonomous territory.

Unique Activations

The game had all the hallmarks of a traditional NBA contest, including the deliberate efforts at integrating compelling activations during nearly every stop in play.

It may have been unusual for British fans accustomed to a more sedate approach, but they quickly got into the spirit when given the opportunity to win everything from a special-edition watch and £5,000 with headline sponsors Tissot and Revolut to free t-shirts through various hoop-shooting contests and mini parachute prize drops.

To make us feel even closer to the action, fans were given rare access to players and stars up close to the court where they took selfies before and after the game. Meanwhile, social media insights from the players were projected on to the giant screen, showing them trying British sweets, guessing the names of London Underground Stations, and pronouncing difficult cities (they still have work to do to nail ‘Gloucester’ and ‘Leicester’).

Live music from an in-house band, cheerleaders and mascot parades, Mexican waves and a lively half-time show from R&B twist girl group FLO brought all the American razzamatazz you would expect from an NBA game.

The activations actually started days earlier with the opening of NBA House in central London, a one-stop destination designed to celebrate the NBA and its culture. Appearances from former NBA players such as Bo Outlaw and Mickaël Pietrus, basketball competitions on a half court, photos with the Larry O’Brien Trophy and customized NBA merchandise were on offer, and players from both the Magic and Grizzlies participated in community outreach initiatives to grow their exposure with new global followers.

A Fitting Venue

Located on the Greenwich Peninsula in London, The O2 Arena is no stranger to hosting the NBA, having done so as far back as 2011, four years after it opened and one year before it hosted basketball at the Summer Olympics. With all the NBA regalia present, had the Union Jack not been projected onto the court in the opening sequence, the O2 could easily have been mistaken for a venue in Philadelphia, Miami or Los Angeles.

Despite a scattering of empty seats, a sell-out crowd of 18,424 was announced. In comparison, average attendances for the London Lions, a Super League Basketball club that plays at the 6,000-capacity Copper Box Arena, have hovered around the 4,000 mark.

Average attendances and viewership levels have shown a marked increase in recent years but a key hurdle will be to get more fans attending matches in person. The average NBA venue capacity in the U.S. is currently around 18,000-20,000 seats, so investment in arenas in the UK will be important if it is to replicate that success in another continent and leverage this burgeoning demand.

Future Plans

This was a slick audition for the NBA’s next steps in Europe. Manchester and London are already rumored to be getting new franchises if and when the new European club basketball league, which would be operated by FIBA and the NBA, launches.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and his team delivered a smooth operation both for local fans and for those who relied on travel and VIP packages to attend the games. NBA Experiences organized VIP packages and offered courtside seats, premium lounges and exclusive access for the London Game, while MVP Travel, Sports Travel Tours and Spectate Travel also laid on packages including flights, hotels and other customizable experiences.

However, the challenges will be to retain an attractive price point for all fans, broaden the appeal of the NBA to cities where there are currently no franchises, and to overcome the competition from existing leagues with long-standing footprints. Ticket costs for the game ranged from just under £100 to £1,000, and while U.S. fans may be accustomed to those figures, European fans took to social media to bemoan the costs and said that they were being priced out of the experience.

In other words, success for the NBA in Europe is not yet a slam dunk.