Chicago Bulls: team will play regular season game in Mexico City

The Chicago Bulls announced on Tuesday that the team will play its first-ever game in Mexico in December next season.

The Chicago Bulls are a team that has fans around the globe, thanks in large part to the rise of legend Michael Jordan. But now the team will have its first opportunity to receive a warm welcome from the fans in Mexico. The Bulls and the NBA announced on Tuesday that the team will face off against the Orlando Magic in a regular season game on December 13th in Mexico City.

This is a great opportunity for the Bulls and the NBA to showcase their product in a growing market. While the Bulls have traveled the globe in previous years for exhibition games, this marks the first time the team will play a regular season game outside of The United States or Canada. The Magic will also host the Utah Jazz in another regular season game on December 15th.

The NBA first started traveling the globe all the way back in 1978 with exhibition games over the years in places like Israel, Italy, Germany, China, and The Philippines. While there haven’t been many regular season games played overseas in the history of the NBA, the league has shifted focus to those games more with the introduction of the NBA Global Games moniker.

This is clearly a big step for the league and the Bulls. Basketball has been rapidly growing as an international sport since superstars like Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki showed up on the scene and made a global impact. It’s something that Bulls President and COO Michael Reinsdorf was excited to announce. Via WGN:

"“We are honored that the NBA invited the Chicago Bulls to be a part of sharing a game we love with a global audience. While our home town is Chicago, the Bulls are fortunate to have fans around the world and we are excited to take our team on the road and help bring the NBA-game experience to Mexico City."

The NBA is clearly a leader in sports when it comes to the international market. The league has been receptive to fans around the world and spread highlights of their games on many different social media platforms, giving those without access to television a chance to see the game. While other leagues like the NFL and MLB certainly have an international impact, they’re more restrictive with the rebroadcast of their product.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has shown a dedication to the international market by including more international regular-season games rather than the exhibition games international fans are used to getting. The league has played two games in Mexico each season since the 2015-2016 season. Here’s what Silver had to say about the games via NBA.com:

"“Returning to Mexico City for two regular-season games this season reinforces our commitment to growing basketball in Mexico and Latin America.  NBA teams have been playing in Mexico for more than 25 years, and the Bulls, Jazz and Magic organizations are excited to continue the tradition of bringing the live game experience to our passionate Mexican fans.”"

It’s going to be interesting to see the amount of Bulls fans in Mexico. While the team hasn’t played there even in the preseason, I have a feeling the Bulls fans will outnumber the Magic fans in the arena.

The rest of the NBA schedule should be released later this week so stay tuned to Da Windy City for more information about some marquee matchups the Bulls will have this upcoming season.