The NBA’s Mexico City 2026 game is on Saturday, November 7, at Arena CDMX, featuring the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers. It will be the league’s 35th game in the country since 1992—more than in any country outside the U.S. and Canada—and it comes at a time when the game is growing exponentially, not just in Mexico but across Latin America.
An NBA Global Fan Study showed that there are now 30 million NBA fans in Mexico, and GWI x NBA Global Fan says basketball is now the second-most played sport in the country, behind fútbol. Remezcla sat down with Mexican NBA legend Horacio Llamas to talk about bringing the game to Mexico, basketball’s growth in Latin America, and what it means to see Latinos in the NBA.
“Everything has evolved around basketball,” he told us. “Not just the way it’s being played now, but social media. Now you can watch any game or any video anytime you want.”
That wasn’t always the case. “When I started playing, we watched basketball once a week. And it was a game at midnight that they showed. And we had to watch the game, and whatever we liked—a move we liked—we had to remember it so we could try it the next day.”
And that’s helped the game tremendously. But there’s also the magic of seeing the NBA live. “The NBA has done a fabulous job of taking these global games to different parts of the world,” Llamas said. “Mexico was one of the first ones to have an actual NBA game. And it was cool to see your favorite players—the ones you saw on TV once a week—come to your country.”
It’s bigger than just Mexicans, too. “There’s a whole revolution around this weekend, because it’s not just people from Mexico City who go to the games.” It’s people from all over the country, and even from other Latin American countries. “People eager to come to the game, saving money all year for this weekend.”
For Llamas, that makes a big difference. “If you get the chance to meet your idol—to touch or talk to them—then you start to believe in certain stuff, and that’s just positive for the Latino community in general.”
And in Latin America, Llamas knows, an entire country can become a fan of one team because of a single player from that country. “A friend of mine, Gustavo Ayón, went to play for the Milwaukee Bucks. Everyone here was rooting for the Bucks, even though before that we didn’t know anyone who played for them. And when fútbol players go to Europe, we root for the team they’re playing for, even if it’s not a well-known team. Same for the baseball players.”
Llamas even pointed out that the same thing is happening with Karim Lopez, who just started his career with the Memphis Grizzlies. “I’ve known him since he was in diapers because his dad played with me. And later he played with my team when I was coaching. Obviously, we want him to do well, even if you don’t know him. But it’s like, chill, man. He’s going to get his time. Just let him be.”
In the meantime, check out the NBA game coming to Mexico on November 7.