An American professional basketball team, Milwaukee Bucks took to their official Instagram page recently to share throwback pictures that featured Paris Saint Germain duo Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
The pictures were taken during the NBA Paris Game 2020 between Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets. It was the first 2020 regular-season NBA game that took place on January 24, 2020.
The game which was held at the AccorHotels Arena and presented by beIN SPORTS was the 11th time an NBA game was held in France. It was also the 92nd NBA game in Europe.
Based on reports, over 150,000 fans registered their interest in the NBA Paris Game 2020 event page, a record for an NBA game in Europe. The game was transmitted to over 200 countries via TV stations, digital and social media.
During the game proper, Milwaukee Bucks recorded 116 points while Charlotte Hornets recorded 103 points. Hence, Bucks won the game with 13 points difference.
At the end of the game, Giannis Antetokounmpo was adjudged one of the most outstanding players in the regular-season game opener.
The 6.11 feet tall basketball player had 30 points and 16 rebounds which was better than any other player in the game.
In remembrance of the game, Milwaukee Bucks captioned some of the locker room throwback pictures they shared with: “OTD in 2020, the Bucks played the Hornets in Paris & some special guests stopped by to see us.”
In one of the pictures, Neymar was seen posing with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the locker room before the game. Neymar could not match up with Giannis’ incredible height.
In the second slide, Kylian Mbappe could be seen posing with Bucks’ George Hill who is one of the talismans of the NBA club.
While in the third slide, Neymar could be seen presenting his PSG’s jersey to Bucks’ Khris Middleton.
Recall that the NBA tried to bring such an NBA game back to Paris in 2021 but the basketball body could not do so due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
To date, the pandemic has made it so difficult for the NBA to bring a basketball game to Europe due to restrictions. However, there could be a way forward between 2023 and 2024.
