On Saturday afternoon, Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets will face the Indiana Pacers at Arena CDMX. Then, on Sunday night, the Mexico City Capitanes will open their home schedule against the Texas Legends in that same building.

The NBA gets to bring a three-time MVP to Mexico City for a game that counts, and fans can come back the next night to watch their own team. The Capitanes have 24 home games there this season, so Saturday is the marquee event — but Sunday might say more about why the league keeps coming back.

Tipoff is at 4 p.m. Saturday at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, or 5 p.m. ET. The game will air on NBA TV in the U.S. and ESPN in Mexico.

Why the NBA Keeps Coming Back to Mexico City

The league’s been playing in Mexico since 1992, when the Rockets and Mavericks came down for a preseason game. They came back five years later for the country’s first regular-season NBA game, and Charles Barkley dropped 19 points and 17 rebounds in a two-point Houston win. Last year, 20,385 fans showed up to watch Detroit beat Dallas. Saturday will be the NBA’s 35th game in Mexico, including preseason games — more than they've played in any country outside the U.S. and Canada.

Adam Silver called Mexico City “a gateway essentially to the rest of Latin America” in 2023, and it’s easy to see what he meant. You hear it in the Spanish-language broadcasts and see it in the work happening around these games. The Capitanes were already a Mexican club before becoming the NBA’s first G League team based outside the U.S. and Canada. This weekend, the league’s bringing youth and coaching programs along with the game, plus a Día de Muertoscourt for the third straight year as they continue building the event around the holiday. Indiana’s putting their usual gold playoff shirts on seats around the arena.

The Pacers may get the home designation in the standings, but the crowd gets to decide how much that really means.

The Teams Making the Trip

If you’re new to Denver, watch what happens when Jokić catches the ball near the free-throw line. He’s a center who runs the offense, which is still a pretty ridiculous sentence when you think about it. Jamal Murray can take a handoff and rise into a jumper, Aaron Gordon can cut behind a defender who’s watching the ball, and Jokić can wait an extra beat before deciding to score himself. He averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists last season. He’s at the center of pretty much everything Denver wants to do.

That group won a title in 2023. Last season, Denver won 54 games with the league’s best offense and still went out in the first round against Minnesota. Monday didn't look much different. Murray scored 35, Jokić finished an assist and a rebound shy of a triple-double, and Portland put up 33 in the fourth quarter and won anyway.

Indiana’s best basketball starts a little sooner in the possession. The Pacers want to get the ball up the floor while somebody’s still looking over his shoulder for his man. Tyrese Haliburton's usually the guy who spots that opening first. He missed all of last season after his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals, and Indiana went 19–63. Then came back averaging 21.8 points and 9.5 assists through four games. Now he’s dealing with a left hamstring strain, and Rick Carlisle’s timeline makes Saturday look unlikely. That’s a hell of a swing for a team that had barely gotten him back.

That puts more on Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard. Siakam was the East finals MVP during that 2025 run, and he’s the guy I’d get the ball to when the first play goes nowhere. Nembhard had 18 points and 14 assists against Philadelphia in Haliburton’s first game out. Indiana needs him to get Siakam the ball early enough to attack a defender who’s still getting his feet set. If Siakam spends the afternoon catching it with eight seconds on the clock and a second defender already leaning his way, that’s a long afternoon.

Watch What Indiana Does With the First Murray–Jokić Screen

If Indiana’s center hangs back near the basket, Murray can pull up. If the Pacers switch and leave a guard on Jokić, he can take that guard down to the block. Send two at Murray, and Jokić can catch it in the middle with Gordon cutting behind the help. It’s a pretty simple play — right up until you have to decide which part of it you’re willing to give up.

That’s why I’m watching Ivica Zubac’s ankle almost as closely as I’m watching Siakam. Zubac came back for Wednesday’s game in Memphis after missing five straight, and didn't make a shot. He just didn't look like himself. If he’s out there and looking better Saturday, Indiana will have a big who can take some of those Jokić post-ups without needing help right away.

If Jay Huff gets some run, there’s something Indiana can work with on the other end. Huff can shoot, and making Jokić come out to guard him would give Siakam a little more room to get downhill.

Then there’s the air. Mexico City sits around 7,350 feet above sea level, over 1,000 feet higher than Denver. Both teams have two days between games, but Denver obviously has an advantage just because their practice facility sits at 5,280 feet above sea level.

I’ll be watching the stretches when the same guys have to sprint back three or four possessions in a row. That’s where the altitude could start to matter, especially for a team that had only six players available Monday against Atlanta. All six played at least 34 minutes. Even with some regulars coming back, Carlisle’s had to ask a lot from the guys he’s got.

So Who Wins?

I’m taking Denver. Indiana can make this interesting if Nembhard gets the Pacers running and Siakam gets a few easy ones before Gordon can get in front of him. But if it’s a four-point game with four minutes left, I know what Denver’s going to run. So does Indiana. I still like Denver’s chances of getting the shot they want.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.

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