The NBA announced on Thursday night that it will bring a 29th team into the G League to be based in Mexico City in a landmark partnership with Capitanes, a professional basketball team in Mexico.
The news was delivered ahead of The Mexico Games 2019 set to take place between the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
Capitanes will make its debut starting with the 2020-21 season as the team will play its home games at the Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera in Mexico City. The team will be the first outside of the U.S. and Canada.
The schedule for the 2020-21 season will be announced in August 2020.
The announcement was made by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NBA G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim, NBA Mexico vice president and managing director Raul Zarraga and Capitanes co-owners Patricio Garza and Gilberto Hernández.
“Bringing an NBA G League team to Mexico City is a historic milestone for the NBA which demonstrates our commitment to basketball fans in Mexico and across Latin America,” Silver said. “As the first G League franchise based outside of the U.S. and Canada, we look forward to welcoming Capitanes to the NBA family.”
Capitanes, which was established in 2016, currently competes in Mexico’s Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. Starting next season, Capitanes will play in the NBA G League for an initial term of five years.
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