Where will Paris Basketball stop? Astounding leader of the Euroleague, and determined at the same time to win the French championship, the capital club, which hosts Monaco this Sunday evening (7 p.m.), never ceases to impress.
Born in 2018, Paris Basketball is experiencing a meteoric rise. Finalist of Betclic Elite, winner of the Leaders Cup, winner of the Eurocup which allowed it to join the Euroleague where the Parisian club is leader this season, the rookie club is a hit sportingly but above all gets people talking about it and fulfills its new hall, the Adidas Arena with 8,000 seats.
One of the first ingredients of this success is the ambition to establish Paris Basketball as a brand in its own right. “That’s what president David Kahn has always said,” confides Julien Jalouzet, marketing director of the club. “We want to be the second sports brand in Paris behind Paris Saint-Germain which is obviously a big brother. We want to take this second place because basketball is a sport that is very popular and there are twelve million players. rather young residents in Greater Paris, we have a game to play and that is what is happening.”
A setting worthy of the name and a very present kop
Seducing the Parisian public is not so easy, especially since the offer of culture and entertainment is plentiful in Paris. With its two American owners, David Kahn (former minority shareholder of the Minnesota Timberwolves) and Eric Schwartz (former minority shareholder of the Atlanta Hawks), Paris Basketball uses NBA methods to get people talking and fill its room.
Social networks, rapprochement with urban culture, clothing line and celebrities regularly present on the floor, the cocktail works. All in a setting worthy of the name, the Adidas Arena, at Porte de la Chapelle, built for the Games and today for basketball.
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“It’s the heart of the product and I encourage all people to come and see a match,” emphasizes Jalouzet. “Whether you're a basketball fan or not, for two hours, I'm sure people will have a good time. We had Omar Sy, we have an Olympic athlete per game and people love that. This year, that comes to us. We had different profiles like football players, Malik Bentalha, Alice Belaïdi…”
For the atmosphere, there are of course the musical choices, the ambiance players on the microphone, the video cube but also a kop present from the start. The Kop Parisii (different from that of the Parc des Princes) has been present since the creation of the club in 2018. It has known the dilapidated Carpentier hall. “It’s a club that finally represents the city of Paris,” explains Rédoine, a historic member of the kop. “The public comes from any environment in Paris, its suburbs, from all social classes. That’s why the project works.”
“Paris Basketball makes the difference between sporting performance and social performance”
And the major difference is there. Having been able to understand the diverse Parisian public and not cater to a niche. However, basketball had tried with Paris Basket Racing in the 90s (1997 French champion and Tony Parker's first professional club) then the Paris-Levallois association, too political and which would end up with the disappearance of the name “Paris”. Christophe Denis, today director of the Paris Basketball training center, knew these different eras well, having coached Paris-Levallois from 2011 to 2013: “Paris Basket Racing was still oriented towards an audience of insiders. C It was Coubertin, 3500 spectators. It was only orange ball enthusiasts who were finally invited on Saturday evenings.
“Today, this is no longer the case at all. Paris Basketball really makes the difference between sporting performance and social performance. I think that there is as much energy deployed within the club to satisfy people who understand nothing about basketball but who will leave the Adidas Arena having had as much fun as someone who saw Panathinaikos play or all the clubs we are lucky enough to host in the Euroleague. that's the strength of club. The difference is marked at this level with Paris Basket Racing then Paris-Levallois which was a club from Hauts-de-Seine all the same.”
Paris Basketball's ambition is to enter the Euroleague for the long term and win it. But another trophy could fall more quickly into the club's already stocked showcase, that of champion of France that the TJ Shorts gang would like to conquer this season after having been in the final in June 2024.
