The NBA is to return to the United Kingdom for the first time since 2019, with a match in London in 2026 and Manchester in 2027.
London’s O2 Arena has been selected to host a regular-season game between the Orlando Magic and the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, 18 January 2026.
It will be the first NBA game in the UK since the Washington Wizards’ win over the New York Knicks in January 2019, with London previously having hosted yearly matches between 2011 and 2019.
Manchester will host a regular-season game for the first time in 2027 at the Co-op Live, with the teams involved to be revealed before the start of that season.
The city previously held a pre-season match between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Philadelphia 76ers in October 2013 at the city’s other major indoor entertainment venue, which is now called the AO Arena.
The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, said: “London is now the undisputed sporting capital of the world and the NBA coming to The O2 in January 2026 will further cement our global status.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “This is great news for the city-region and is an exciting opportunity for us to see some of the best basketball players in the world on our doorstep.”
Councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, added: “Manchester once again has shown what a magnificent draw it is for major events, and we are thrilled to welcome the NBA back to our city.”
The NBA will hold two games in Europe in each of 2026, 2027 and 2028.
Berlin will host the other game in 2026 with Paris doing so in 2027, while in 2028 they will both host a match.
The teams involved in the 2027 and 2028 matches will be named before the start of those seasons.
The 2025-26 season gets under way on Tuesday, 21 October.
2026
Thursday, 15 January: Orlando Magic v Memphis Grizzlies – Uber Arena, Berlin
Sunday, 18 January: Memphis Grizzlies v Orlando Magic – O2 Arena, London
2027
One match at Accor Arena, Paris
One match at Co-op Live, Manchester
2028
One match at Uber Arena, Berlin
One match at Accor Arena, Paris
My Newspaper Sport understands Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday morning.
Mayor of London Khan met with NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum in September 2024 to discuss the return of matches to London and has remained in regular contact.
It is also understood that earlier this week Khan met with Silver to discuss the league’s return to London and the growth of basketball in the city.
The news comes in a summer that has also seen Nottingham-bornAmari Williams, 23, picked up in the second round of the NBA Draft by 2023-24 champions the Boston Celtics.
When Williams makes his official debut for the Celtics later this year, it will make him the fourth active Briton in the NBA.
OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks is Britain’s star name in the league, while Tosan Evbuomwan plays for the Brooklyn Nets.
Jeremy Sochan (San Antonio Spurs) completes the list of British NBA players, although internationally he represents Poland.
Belfast-bornCJ Fulton also featured for the Minnesota Timberwolvesduring the summer league, putting him in a position to potentially be signed by an NBA side later this year.
In March 2025, NBA commissioner Silver announced that in collabaration with FIBA, the NBA is exploring the creation of a professional men’s league across Europe.
At present, a proposed semi-open league of up to 16 teams that would include permanent clubs in European cities such as London, Manchester, Berlin and Paris is being discussed.
In terms of participation, basketball is currently the second most-popular team sport in the United Kingdom with one-and-a-half million participants on a weekly basis.
It is thought that there are around eight million UK-based basketball fans and it is currently the most popular sports league in the UK among Gen Z audiences.
