The National Basketball Association has had a great success in its recent games outside the country in Mexico and London this week and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes in the potential of having an NBA team in Mexico.
A sellout crowd of 20,532 at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico watched the game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 12 may have proven that Mexico is the untapped market the league has been looking for and Cuban suggests a team in Mexico would do good not just for the NBA but for the sport as well, ESPN reported.
Together with the Suns and Spurs, the Mavericks also competed in Mexico to mark the 23rd and 24th games held in the country. It is also the 25th year the NBA held games in the country with nineteen of the previous 22 games being exhibition ones but last week, two regular season games occurred in The Land of Enchantment.
However, in a press conference in Mexico City, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the press that putting a franchise in the country is still not in the horizon for the league. He added that they will first test waters by adding more regular season games in Mexico and possibly, a midseason tournament that will pit several teams against each other, USA Today reported.
If team hailing from Mexico would be included in the NBA, its population 122 million, with 20 million in Mexico City, alone would be a huge fanbase for a team which would mean an increase not just in popularity but also financially for the league.
According to NBA Latin America vice president Arnon de Mello, basketball is now the second-most watched sport in Mexico. A possible franchise in the country or a Mexico team in the league might overtake football as the most watched sport in the country.
Watch the video below for other details of Cuban's idea of relocating team in Mexico: