The French basketball star arrived in the Paris region on Monday with his partners from the San Antonio Spurs for two NBA games, and returned to his old club, Nanterre.

If you are an American-born NBA fan, you'll be forgiven for thinking it's a waste of time for teams to play games on European soil, while altering the inner body clock of their players. After all, why not stay the course and keep the National Basketball Association,

The teams arrived in Paris on Monday, with practices and other events scheduled throughout the week and then the games toward the end. The Spurs were coming straight from the airport to a light workout in Nanterre — on the court that Wembanyama called home when started his pro career in the French league as a 15-year-old.

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are in Paris to play two NBA games against the Indiana Pacers, one on Thursday and one on Saturday. It is a homecoming for the 7-foot-4 Frenchman, who has not played a competitive game in his home country since France lost the gold medal game to the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games.

A group of Wembanyama’s former coaches, teammates and trainers greeted him and the Spurs at Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez on Monday.

Wembanyama is back in his home country as the Spurs take on the Pacers in the 2025 NBA Paris Games. Victor Wembanyama is back in Paris with the the Spurs for the NBA Paris Games 2025. • Get NBA League Pass TODAY NANTERRE,

In France, basketball is rapidly growing, and as the NBA looks to capitalize on that, they sent the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers to Paris to play a series of two games this week. While Accor Arena would likely be sold out anyway, the draw of Victor Wembanyama has been enough for the entire City of Lights to be abuzz with excitement.