Who’s ready for some basketball by the Eiffel Tower?
The Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons have packed their bags and used their passports for an international showdown in Paris. The matchup marks the NBA’s first game in Paris since January 2020 and the second outside of the U.S. and Canada this year. The Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-101 in the league’s Mexico City Game on Dec. 17.
Pistons guard Killian Hayes, whose father played in France, is back in the country he grew up in. There are also a handful of players with other European connections: Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is from Montenegro, Bulls guard Goran Dragic is from Slovenia and Pistons forward Bojan Bodganovic is from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Zach LaVine, meanwhile, is hoping this contest is a precursor to another Paris trip. The Bulls guard won a gold medal with Team USA at the most recent Summer Olympics in 2021 and will hope to make the roster again in 2024 when the squad looks to defend its title in France’s capital city.
Before anyone looks too far toward the Olympics, here is how you can catch the action between the Bulls and Pistons in Paris:
The Bulls and Pistons will battle on Thursday, Jan. 19.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT (9 p.m. local time) at Accor Arena in Paris.
Bulls fans can catch the game on NBC Sports Chicago, while Pistons fans can watch on Bally Sports Detroit. The national audience can see the game on NBA TV.
NBC Sports Chicago will have Bulls Pregame Live beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT and Bulls Postgame Live after the final buzzer.
NBC Sports Chicago’s coverage can be streamed here and in the MyTeams app.
NBA TV’s coverage can be streamed here and in the NBA app.
Though Thursday’s contest is being played at a neutral site, it counts as one of the Pistons’ 41 home games and one of the Bulls’ 41 road games.
Both teams played their most recent game on Sunday, and they will get three more off days before they take the court again in the states.
The Bulls will face the Atlanta Hawks in Chicago on Monday, while the Pistons will host the Milwaukee Bucks.