For the eighth time in franchise history, the Dallas Mavericks will play a regular-season game in Mexico City.
The 2025 Mexico City Game will feature the Mavericks and Detroit Pistons at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Nov. 1, the NBA announced late Tuesday.
The NBA and Zignia Live today announced that The NBA Mexico City Game 2025 will feature the @dallasmavs and the @DetroitPistons playing a regular-season game hosted by Zignia Live at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Saturday, Nov. 1.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 11, 2025
Complete release: https://t.co/tBBg0OZtZC pic.twitter.com/ENFK10uvD6
“We take significant pride in the fact that the Mavericks organization and our ers reflect the increased globalization of basketball and the NBA,” Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said in a statement.
The release didn’t identify the home team, so it’s unclear if the game will decrease by one the number of games played at American Airlines Center.
Both rosters feature All-Stars. The Mavericks are headlined by Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving, who is expected to miss a significant portion of the regular season while recovering from ACL surgery.
The Pistons are led by first-time All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, along with a bevy of emerging talent such as Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson. Detroit tripled its win total this season from a year ago and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
The Mavericks participated in the first NBA game in Mexico on Oct. 27, 1992, beating the Houston Rockets in a preseason game.
One of the most explosive scoring performances in the annual Mexico City games belongs to former Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, who dropped 41 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists, coincidentally to help Dallas defeat the Pistons in December 2019. He is the only player to record a triple-double in a Global Games competition, and his performance ranks as the second-highest point total in a global game.
Right before he was traded to the Mavericks, assistant general manager Michael Finley tied a then-career-high 35 points in Mexico City in December 1996 as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
This season’s matchup between Dallas and Detroit marks the NBA’s 34th game in Mexico since 1992 – more than any country outside of the U.S. and Canada. It also coincides with traditional Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations in the city for the second consecutive year.
We are ready… ¿y tú, México? 🇲🇽🏀@Softtek // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/8NQApmWOt1
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) June 11, 2025
The game will showcase Dia de Muertos with a themed court, fan engagement initiatives and other elements.
“The vibrancy of Mexico City and the ion of its fans make it the perfect place to host these Global Games, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to represent the NBA and the city of Dallas in Mexico City for the eighth time,” Welts said.
X/Twitter: @MikeACurtis2
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.