The NBA will head to Paris for the January 24 edition of its global games, an exciting way to kickstart 2020—particularly for this French sports expert. I’ll be there. And if you will be, too, here are two basketball-related events for your agenda:

This Armistice Day, Veteran’s Day, its fitting that 100 years after the Franco-American and basketball bonds were more deeply entrenched that another milestone is being marked.   Today in Texas, the San Antonio Spurs are retiring jersey #9, the number worn by famed French point guard Tony Parker for all but one season in his storied NBA career.  

Many people think of food, fashion, and yes, football (soccer) when they think of France and associate a weekend in Paris with glamor, gossamer dreams, and macaroons. Others think of the “new Paris” that features La FrenchTech and Parisian-style hipsters along the Canal St. Martin in the 10ème. For over a century, all “good Americans” have had their own versions of the City of Light, but “my Paris” has long been sports-centric. Given the building anticipation of the NBA’s January 2020 match in the French capital, a quick 48-hours en ville by basketball illustrates different aspects of the city that you likely never thought of.

Last week’s “events” involving the NBA and China, ignited after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for the Hong Kong protestors, thrust basketball diplomacy onto center stage. But omitted in all of the coverage analysis is that no one should be surprised that the Chinese government would take a stand when politics and international basketball intersected.