Wemby’s first NBA game in France was a smashing success, as he went off for 30 points in the Spurs’ 140-110 win over the Pacers.

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 — the place where Wembanyama started his pro career in the French league as a 15-year-old.

Officially, Indiana will be the home team on the scoreboard when it plays San Antonio in Paris. The Pacers know better. They will not be feeling right at home.

The high octane glitz of NBA basketball will descend on Paris on Thursday night as the San Antonio Spurs - who feature the French star Victor Wembanyama - take on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two regular season games.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez deployed 1,000 law enforcement officers for Thursday's basketball game between Paris and Maccabi Tel Aviv amid concerns of protests over the war in Gaza, but faced an different type of disruption.

Officially, Indiana will be the home team on the scoreboard when it plays San Antonio in Paris on Thursday. The Pacers know better. The upcoming NBA Paris Games are this

The centerpiece of the Spurs’ trek to Paris has been Tuesday’s sojourn to Le Chesnay, where Wembanyama was on hand as the city cut the ribbon on an outdoor basketball court adjacent to the gym where he took some of his first fledgling jump shots as a kid.

Wembanyama was born and raised in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, a western Paris suburb, and has made it a focus this week to introduce his teammates to Parisian culture and the life he led before he became the NBA Rookie of the Year and likely next face of the league.

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.

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.

Wembanyama unveiled a gift of sorts to his hometown and the next generation on Tuesday, a pair of outdoor courts — one for 5-on-5 play, the other for 3-on-3 play — that were built to the specifications that he wanted and sketched out himself.