NBA in Mexico: G League Capitanes hope they're laying foundation

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A reggaeton song by PuertoRican artist Daddy Yankee is blasting through the Arena Ciudad deMéxico with the lights out while fans wave their cell phones anddance to the rhythm of the music.

Then comes a drumbeat followed by a loud “Ca-pi-ta-nes,Ca-pi-ta-nes” chant.

Welcome to NBA G League action in Mexico City. And if fans gettheir wish, the atmosphere at Capitanes’ games will become thestaple for home games of an actual NBA team in the city. It’s alongshot but that hasn’t dampened the optimism.

When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver visited Mexico in December, hesaid the Capitanes would give the league a great opportunity to seeif Mexico could be considered for a franchise in the future.

So far, it appears the organization is on the right path.

Though the Capitanes lost a three-way tiebreaker and missed theG League playoffs — the finals begin Tuesday — they provided someanswers to off-court concerns in their first season in MexicoCity.

Following their inaugural G League season in Fort Worth, Texas,due to the pandemic, the Capitanes settled into thestate-of-the-art Arena Ciudad de Mexico — a glass-clad facilitylocated in the north part of the city that cost $300 million tobuild and opened in 2012.

Attendance was a concern, but team president Rodrigo Serratossaid the Capitanes top the G League in selling individual ticketsand rank fifth in total attendance despite their home arena notbeing located near downtown Mexico City.

“We have a big arena, so we are working with a small set-up, butwe have been averaging around 65% of its capacity,” Serratos toldThe Associated Press. “So far, it´s been pure magic.”

There also are safety concerns about having a permanent team inMexico City. As recently as Monday, four people were killed in whatis believed to have been drug gang-related violence. The killingscame less than a week after a U.S. tourist was shot in the leg inthe nearby town of Puerto Morelos.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert last monthwarning travelers to “exercise increased caution,” especially afterdark, at Mexico’s Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa delCarmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence inthe past.

Alfonzo McKinnie, who played for four NBA teams before coming tothe Capitanes, had said before the season ended that he feelscomfortable in the city.

“Everybody I know from players to family and friends asked meabout safety, but we live in Polanco one of the nicest parts ofMexico City and I tell them we are as safe as one can be,” McKinniesaid.

Several players live in Polanco, one the wealthiestneighborhoods in Mexico City with some of the best restaurants,luxury hotels and expensive condos. The area is also one of thesafest in the capital, with a strong police presence day and night.It is where NFL, MLB and NBA teams stay whenever they visit Mexicoto play regular season games.

Serratos said McKinnie, along with Kenneth Faried and GaryClark, are enjoying their experience with the Capitanes whilehoping for another NBA opportunity.

“All the American players said that they did not expect to finda country like this. The feedback that we are getting from them isthat they are very happy and want to keep playing here,” saidRodrigo Serratos, the team president. “The city offers a lot ofthings; we are a rich country in experiences for foreigners.”

Since 1992, when the Houston Rockets played the DallasMavericks, Mexico has hosted 30 NBA games out the 117 that the NBAhas played outside of the U.S. and Canada in its history.

Silver has said having a G League team in Mexico City gives theleague an opportunity to better understand the challenges that comewith dealing with the local culture, a different language and allthe other circumstances around possibly having an NBA franchise inthe city one day.

Soccer is still king among sports in the country, but there aremore basketball courts than soccer fields in Mexico and the fanshave shown in the past how loyal they are. Before the Capitanes,the Mexico City Aztecs played in the defunct Continental BasketballAssociation in 1994 and averaged 9,000 fans a game.

“You can call it love, passion or solidarity — any of thoseadjectives describe what the basketball culture in this country is,and that is what the NBA has found here,” said Raul Zarraga, thedirector of the NBA office in Mexico.

Besides the reggaeton music that booms during game breaks, thereis a fan who brings a drum to cheer for the Capitanes. “TheMexicans are very passionate with sports; they are very involvedand noisy,” Serratos said, adding that the team had to get aspecial permit from the NBA for the fan’s drum. “It is a differentatmosphere here than in any other G League venue.”

Despite the early success of the Capitanes, fans should notexpect to see an NBA expansion team in Mexico City anytime soon.The last time the league expanded was in 2004 with a franchise inCharlotte, North Carolina. Before that, the league expanded in 1995with two teams in Canada.

Other cities, including Las Vegas and Seattle, also could beahead of Mexico City when and if the NBA considers an expansion inthe future.

Until then, fans can continue to party with the Capitanes.