A few decades ago, Basketball was viewed as a purely American sport. But today, that has all changed. Basketball is now the world’s 2nd most profitable sports league, with 70% of its social media followers based outside the US.
Over 120 NBA players hail from abroad, and basketball is exploding in popularity around the globe. Basketball’s international growth isn’t an accident. It is the result of a meticulously crafted, decades-long strategy by the NBA.
By building international partnerships and localizing content for regional audiences, the NBA has created a playbook for reaching fans wherever they are.
“One of the key pillars for us internationally is to reach fans, wherever they’re consuming content, no matter which country they’re in,” explained Matt Brabants, the NBA’s Senior Vice President and Head of International Content Partnerships.
This ambition has led to an extraordinary level of success, both for the NBA and basketball as a sport. But how did the NBA appeal to viewers and customers who speak hundreds of languages across thousands of cultures? And why haven’t other American sports achieved the same levels of success?
Understanding the NBA’s globalization and localization strategy can help modern businesses better prepare for their own international efforts.
One of the key pillars for us internationally is to reach fans, wherever they’re consuming content, no matter which country they’re in.
How the NBA Grew Into a Global Phenomenon
The NBA’s global journey began in 1978 when the Washington Bullets played an exhibition game against Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. This marked the league’s first attempt to introduce professional basketball beyond its home base.
Throughout the 1980s, the NBA intensified its international outreach with exhibition games across Europe, Asia and South America, showcasing the sport to new audiences.
Basketball’s popularity got a big break in 1992 when the “Dream Team” took the world by storm at the Barcelona Olympics. A roster of NBA superstars including Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson won a gold medal and ignited global interest in the league.
By the early 2000s, children from outside the US who had grown up idolizing Michael Jordan were stepping onto NBA courts as players. Stars like Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki gave fans outside the US' local heroes to root for, boosting worldwide engagement.
The NBA took advantage of this momentum and began hosting regular season games in markets like Mexico and the UK.
Appealing to children was another major prong of the league’s strategy.
In 2001, it launched Basketball Without Borders (BWB), a youth development program that introduced the sport to children globally. This program has been massively successful at igniting a global fanbase.
In fact, last season, nearly 1 in 3 NBA players from abroad participated in BWB in their youth.
Today, the NBA continues its plan for international domination by hosting international games, partnering with global brands and creating huge amounts of content for global audiences.
200 Countries, One Game: The NBA’s Localization Playbook
Engaging audiences across over 200 countries isn’t easy. It takes a lot of resources and creativity. To accomplish this, the NBA employs a complex localization strategy.
When broadcasting live sports, the league leverages local broadcasters and streaming platforms to localize its content.
For example, in Spain, NBA games are broadcast on Movistar, while Amazon Prime delivers exclusive coverage in Brazil. These partnerships ensure that fans can access games in their native languages, complete with culturally relevant commentary.
But the NBA’s real popularity engine is social media, where the majority of its followers are from outside the US. To compete abroad with local sports like soccer, the NBA needs to keep its stories and big moments in front of fans' eyes.
“Whether it’s through our NBA app, League Pass, or brand-new channels like Instagram or third-party platforms, we want to be as accessible as possible,” Matt Brabants said.
The NBA has over 80 localized social media accounts across nations, where it posts translated and original multilingual content. It also partners with local influencers and brands to build trust.
The league partners with outside firms to create localized content for its regional channels. For example, last year, it hired a firm in India to create short-form content in 13 South Asian languages.
The NBA has also begun using generative AI to translate and localize content for its app. Fans can now access game recaps and original programming in French, Portuguese and Spanish, with live games available in multiple languages. AI translation is giving fans access to localized content faster than ever.
Making NBA Basketball Accessible to Global Audiences
Accessibility is another important part of the NBA’s globalization strategy. The league recognized that live games in US time zones were inconvenient for international fans. So, it launched the “NBA Primetime Saturdays and Sundays” initiative.
By scheduling games in the afternoon, fans in Europe, the Middle East and Africa can enjoy live broadcasts during their evening hours. This change has already yielded results, with an 11% year-over-year increase in primetime viewership.
Hosting international games is still a big part of the NBA’s presence abroad. In recent years, it has hosted regular-season games in Japan, China and Mexico. In 2025, games are scheduled in Macao and France.
For the rest of the regular season games, league officials are working on expanding the NBA’s media presence across television and streaming platforms around the globe. They recognize that many viewers are watching on their phones, and they’ve been targeting those audiences aggressively.
“We saw record digital and social consumption in several markets across Asia including India—which surpassed 100 million unique viewers across linear television, social media and digital media platforms for the first time ever,” Brabants said.
Lessons from the NBA’s Global Success
The NBA clearly understands the importance of globalization, and it is willing to invest the time and resources to get it right.
The league has been implementing its global strategy for nearly 50 years. It’s one of the only sports leagues in the world that understands that a global presence requires more than just accessibility—it demands cultural connection.
Access to televised events is important, but it’s just as important to tell stories on social media, foster a connection with youth through BWB and build meaningful partnerships with local businesses and personalities.
For the NBA, the key to globalization is effective localization. Instead of simply showing basketball to global communities on a TV screen, the NBA integrated it into their lives. It made basketball a part of their aspirations and daily conversations.
Today, the seeds of global engagement the NBA planted in the 1970s continue to grow. Around 3.3 billion people call themselves basketball fans (over 40% of the global population), and the sport continues to grow in popularity by leaps, bounds and baskets.
At Wolfestone Group, we provide the linguistic expertise businesses need to achieve global success.
As a translation and localization agency focused exclusively on serving businesses, we have the resources and expertise to support organizations of any size in reaching their international goals.
Whether you’re a growing SME or a global powerhouse like the NBA, Wolfestone Group ensures your message is both heard and understood, no matter where your business operates.
Ready to Go Global? Contact Wolfestone Group Today.
