It’s an ostensibly random matchup, aside from their origins in league expansion and their darker shades of blue. But for this time and place, the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies make a cool pairing as the NBA’s first regular-season game in Germany.

Orlando has three members of the German national team in its rotation. Memphis is a sudden fixation as trade winds swirl south. The two sides just swung a big deal together in the offseason. There’s a lot to look out for as Berlin welcomes the NBA Global Games.

How to watch Magic vs. Grizzlies (NBA Berlin Game)The teamsOrlando Magic (22-18)

Under Jamahl Mosley, the Magic play inside basketball with a good free-throw rate and solid glass work. Overall, Orlando enters the week 16th in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating. It’s also 14-8 in clutch games, defined by the league as those within five points in the final five minutes.

Paolo Banchero, Rookie of the Year in 2022-23, is slumping on the perimeter and struggling with his jumper. It’s been a wonky start for the 23-year-old as he builds back up from a groin injury.

Steely 3-and-D wing Desmond Bane gets to show out against his former teammates; he was traded from Memphis to Orlando for a package around Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and four first-round draft picks. His fellow backcourt Magician, Anthony Black, is amid a breakout third season. Black dropped 26 points and made 9 of his 10 shots in Orlando’s last outing, a win Sunday versus the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Magic have become Germany’s unofficial squad due to their trio of national team standouts. Tristan Da Silva, picked No. 18 in the 2024 draft, was born in Munich. The Wagners, Moritz and Franz, both played in Alba Berlin’s youth system.

Moe, the elder and taller brother, just made his return from a grueling ACL tear that kept him off the court for 13 months. Franz, the younger and more impactful brother, is averaging 22.7 points on career-best 49 percent shooting. He hasn’t played since Dec. 7 due to an ankle sprain, but he told reporters that he wants to play Thursday. Da Silva and the Brothers Wagner will surely have the crowd’s sympathies.

Memphis Grizzlies (17-22)

Heading into Thursday, Tuomas Iisalo’s team is No. 24 in offensive efficiency, but No. 13 on defense and playing with the 10th-fastest pace. Jaren Jackson Jr., Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-23, can still rack up stocks (steals + blocks) when he stays out of foul trouble.

And there are some encouraging developments around the newcomers. First-round rookie Cedric Coward is 6-foot-5 with an absurd 7-foot-2 wingspan. He’s averaging almost 14 points per game on 47 percent from the field. Meanwhile, second-year riser Cam Spencer is in the 98 percentile for points per shot at shooting guard, according to Cleaning the Glass.

But there’s a thick cloud around Memphis as it explores Ja Morant trade destinations. Per The Athletic’s John Hollinger, the Grizz’s two-time All-Star and 2019-20 Rookie of the Year is now on the market.

Morant is talented but mercurial. A calf injury has sidelined him since Jan. 2. He made the trip overseas, but the Grizzlies ruled him out on Wednesday … a few hours after Morant said he’d “hopefully” play in the Global Games.

The broadcast

Prime Video has the streaming exclusive for European and U.S. national audiences. A local simulcast is provided by FanDuel Sports Network Florida for those in the Orlando market. German native Dirk Nowitzki is a member of Prime’s studio programming. His jumper is still crisp, though the signature leg lift is in the vault.

German rapper Luciano is the halftime performer. He released an album in late November.

The festivities

Everyone seems to be having fun so far. Orlando’s locker room is trying currywurst, schnitzel and käsespätzle, thanks to its Berliner brothers. Da Silva is resetting his circadian rhythm. Within the city itself, there’s Magic Kiez — a fan pop-up with free pizza (good) and mascot Stuff the Magic Dragon (good times two). The franchise has alumni in tow, including Dwight Howard and Nick Anderson.

Corresponding watch parties are set up around Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Was geht to all:

The party won’t linger long after Thursday’s action. These teams ship directly to London for Sunday’s second overseas game at The O2. New slang, full passports and maximum jet lag for all involved.

The histories

Thursday marks the first regular-season NBA game on German soil, but the product has been exported to this market in decades past.

Before the start of the 1984-85 season, the Seattle SuperSonics played a round of exhibition games with West German clubs in Hagen, Göttingen and Leverkusen. Almost a decade later, Charles Barkley’s Phoenix Suns anchored the 1993 McDonald’s Open in Munich’s Olympiahalle, though the participants were from Spain (Real Madrid) and Italy (Buckler Bologna). Nowitzki made an informal homecoming through the 2012 scrimmage between his Dallas Mavericks and Alba Berlin. He finished with eight points, then told reporters that he was “too old to dunk.”

All of those NBA teams beat their European opponents (Europponents?). But Alba Berlin scooped up a momentous, if unofficial, win in October 2014, when it topped the San Antonio Spurs by a 94-93 final score. The Spurs won the NBA Finals a few months prior; Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard all played major minutes at the O2 World exhibition.

Along with the 10 exhibition games, three official NBA preseason matchups have gone down in Germany. The Sonics, who then employed national hero Detlef Schrempf, went to Berlin alongside the Indiana Pacers in 1996. Cologne was a site for the 2006 NBA Europe Live Tour, which featured the Suns and Philadelphia 76ers. In 2008, the then-New Orleans Hornets faced the Washington Wizards, also at Berlin’s O2 World.

A lot more might be coming in the near future. October 2027 is a “realistic target” for the NBA’s European league launch, according to the secretary general of FIBA, basketball’s international governing body. The NBA’s managing director for its European and Middle East offices mentioned Berlin and Munich as possible charter members.

NBA career scoring leaders born in Germany
Dirk Nowitzki (1999-2019): 31,560 points
Kiki Vandeweghe (1981-93): 15,980 points
Detlef Schrempf (1986-2001): 15,761 points
Carlos Boozer (2003-15): 13,976 points
Dennis Schröder (2014-present): 12,140 points and counting

Ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.