When tickets went on sale in July, Philippe Ausseur, president of the National Basketball League (LNB), was not worried. In fact, as in the 21 previous editions, some 15,000 seats at the Accor Arena in Bercy found takers for the All-Star Game (the “star match”, in French), the annual event organized by the LNB , Sunday December 29, from 5 p.m.
The meeting pits the best French players from the Betclic Elite, the French championship, against their foreign counterparts for a gala meeting, without sporting stakes. Like its namesake organized by the NBA, the major North American league, the All-Star mixes sport and shows, with dunk competitions (action which consists of slamming the ball into the basket while hanging on to the hoop), and three-point shots (beyond the arc located 6.25 m from the basket).
If the evening is a full house every year in Paris, Philippe Ausseur did not expect tickets to sell out so quickly this year. “Usually, everything is full from November onwards. But there, almost all categories of places were already sold in mid-September”he remembers.
“Accelerators” to change dimension
This phenomenon testifies to the enthusiasm generated by the discipline, driven in particular by sporting results. For the first time in its history, France has three representatives this season – Paris Basketball, AS Monaco and ASVEL Lyon Villeurbanne – in the Euroleague. Parisians and Monegasques even temporarily reign at the top of the rankings of the European competition which brings together the best clubs on the continent.
France, renowned for its training capabilities, can also boast of having key international players, which it has been able to export, particularly in the prestigious NBA. After the phenomenon Victor Wenbanyama, selected in 2023 in first position in the draft, the gateway to the League for the best young talents from around the world, his compatriot Zaccharie Risacher was, in turn, the number 1 choice in 2024 .
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If we add to this the silver medal won by the Blues at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, all the ingredients are there to increase interest. “What we are experiencing at the moment are accelerators allowing us to aspire to change dimensions”considers Philippe Ausseur. With this in mind, a new logo and a new slogan, “Let’s reveal French basketball”were launched in 2023.
An increase in attendance in theaters
The crowds are affected. The LNB is counting on an occupancy rate of 92% in Betclic Elite rooms in 2024, or four points more than in 2023. So much so that certain franchises wish to review their infrastructures to accommodate more audiences. Cholet Basket, provisional leader of the French championship, should have a new Arena by 2028. The Limoges club will see its sports center expand. The question of building a new setting also arises in Saint-Quentin (Aisne), where the club is sold out at each meeting.
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The dynamic is also driven, in part, by the complete retransmission of the Betclic Elite, for which the British platform DAZN has recovered the rights since the start of the 2024-2025 season and until 2029. “We are the third sport in France, along with football and rugby, to have 100% of matches produced and broadcast by a channel, Philippe Ausseur is proud. This provides a quality of exposure which is essential to support the development of professional basketball. » To reach a wider audience, the LNB would however like the programming of a match in the clear on a TNT channel, as was the case during the previous season with La Chaîne L'Equipe.
On Sunday, the All-Star Game will be broadcast on DAZN and broadcast on the platform's YouTube channel, free of charge. A way to promote this “show”, presented as a reference in the world: “In France, the main ingredient of our success is this match between French and foreigners, develops Philippe Ausseur. For the players, it is a consecration and a magnificent showcase to allow them to showcase themselves in front of the whole world. »
Nolan Traoré (Saint-Quentin), 18, and Noah Penda (Le Mans), 19, are part of “Team France”. They will be all the more keen to shine in front of the public at the Accor Arena and the whole world as they are among the future contenders to join the NBA in 2025.
