The National Basketball Association has seen an influx of French players in recent years. Look no further than Victor Wembanyama, who was drafted number one overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 2023. There’s also Rudy Gobert, Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Zaccharie Risacher, and Nicolas Batum.
Paris Saint-Germain, the biggest club in France, has also been more involved with professional basketball since the Qatar Sports Investments takeover in 2011. The Jordan Brand collaboration is probably the most obvious example. Since 2018, PSG has worn the Jordan Brand logo on one of its kits, which has helped elevate the club’s brand.
NBA superstar Kevin Durant recently purchased a minority stake in PSG to help expand into basketball. Who knows, we may see DraftKings lines in the future between PSG basketball and the Houston Rockets.
All of this crossover begs the question, which NBA team is PSG most like? Let’s highlight some of the core characteristics of the club and try to find an NBA team that matches most of them.
First, the NBA team has to be in a cosmopolitan city. Looking at the league, that leaves the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Brooklyn Nets.
PSG recently won the UEFA Champions League, the biggest trophy in club football, but they haven’t had historic success when it comes to that title, so we can cross out NBA teams like the Lakers, Bulls, and Heat, and Knicks, who have all had historic success.
That leaves the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Brooklyn Nets. The Clippers have never won a title, so let’s cross them off. That leaves the Nets and Mavericks. The Mavs recently won an NBA championship, while the Nets have two American Basketball Association titles. Both teams have international ties. You could make an argument that the best player in Nets history is Dražen Petrović (Croatia), while the Mavericks fans will quickly name Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) as the best player in their history.
For me, the NBA team that is the most like PSG is the Brooklyn Nets. They have a wealthy owner, Joseph Tsai, who has a net worth of more than $10 billion. The Nets have also had celebrities invest in the team, like Jay-Z, who sold his stake in 2013. Durant has played for the Nets as well. Like PSG, the Nets attempted to assemble a super team that did not result in a title. Ultimately, the Nets have everything needed to succeed; like PSG, they just need a Luis Enrique-type manager who can put all the pieces together.
