The Pacers are in Paris because someone has to be the opponent to French phenom Victor Wembanyama, but they're getting everything out of the trip.

The main events start Thursday when Wembanyama and the Spurs take on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two games in Paris. The rematch is Saturday, both happening at Accor Arena, the same building where Wembanyama played in the knockout round of the Paris Olympics last summer when he and France wound up losing to the U.S. in the gold-medal game.

A meeting with the Indiana Pacers in Paris on Thursday afternoon might just end up feeling like a home game for the San Antonio Spurs. Plenty of fans at Accor Arena will be rooting for Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, who already has established himself as a superstar after being selected first overall by San Antonio in the 2023 draft.

Caitlin Clark turned 23 on Wednesday. And as a birthday gift of sorts, Tyrese Haliburton offered her some more high praise. Haliburton stars for the Indiana Pacers. Clark stars for the WNBA's Indiana Fever and is that league's reigning rookie of the year (plus is pals with fellow Kansas City Chiefs fan Taylor Swift).

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will face the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's 4th and 5th regular-season games in Paris.

"We're going to throw everything we got at him just try do what we can go get a win," said Turner. "They are a tightknit group. They are guys who grind and hustle, so you know, we have to kind of match that intensity and supersede that.

Indiana’s Rick Carlisle has coached more games against San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich than anyone else. They’ve had 87 head-to-head matchups, including playoffs.

The high octane glitz of NBA basketball will descend on Paris on Thursday night as the San Antonio Spurs - who feature the French star Victor Wembanyama - take on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two regular season games.

The Indiana Pacers arrived in Paris this week for a pair of games against the San Antonio Spurs. This marks the first time the NBA will play two regular-season games in the French capital in the same season.

The teams arrived in Paris on Monday, with practices and other events scheduled throughout the week and then the games toward the end. The Spurs were coming straight from the airport to a light workout in Nanterre — on the court that Wembanyama called home when started his pro career in the French league as a 15-year-old.