The Orlando Magic recently featured in their 14th and 15th international NBA games, facing the Memphis Grizzlies in a doubleheader in Berlin and London.
The franchise has now represented the NBA in Brazil, China, England, Japan, Mexico, and Germany.
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Having a global presence has enabled the team to expand its international business, partnerships, and fan engagement, utilizing the NBA Global Games as a catalyst for long-term growth across Europe.
During this most recent trip to the region, the Magic were particularly able to leverage their growing fan support in Germany with three natives on their roster – brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner, and Tristan da Silva.
This played a role in securing the franchise’s first Germany-focused partnership with Deutsche Telekom ahead of the NBA Global Games.
This season, the Magic are the most-watched team on the NBA League Pass subscription platform in Germany. Viewership of Magic games on League Pass in the country has increased 104% year-on-year (YoY).
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By GlobalDataThe Magic are homing in on Germany as a key growth market, but the foundations were set long before their first game in Berlin.
“We did a study about four years ago looking at all the international markets and the research showed us that the UK and Germany are untapped markets for us, both commercially and from a tourism perspective,” Charlie Freeman, Magic’s president of business operations, tells international media during his visit to Europe.
“The one thing that we learned, and this is going back four years, is that you can't just have a game and show up. So, we started our efforts in Germany 24 months ago. We were on the ground, visiting, doing watch parties, camps, and clinics beforehand, and some of the stuff was before we even knew we were going to play in the country.
“This is just a start for us; we've been doing this for a while, but we're going to be here for a long time in these marketplaces and continue to grow. It's a tremendous opportunity commercially for us.”
The Global Games build on recent international initiatives by the Magic, including the team’s first-ever summer tour in Germany and expanded collaboration with Marcus Höfl Management (MHM), the team’s agency of record in the country, to support additional European growth opportunities.
With MHM’s background and knowledge of the German market, the company has served as an extension of the Magic business arm in Germany, concentrating on brand marketing and growth, event management, media strategy, and commercial partnership development.
As well as MHM, the Magic works with the Sportfive agency and views these relationships as key to understanding the regional landscape from a commercial perspective and ultimately growing the team’s brand.
“We can't just assume that we're going to come to a marketplace and know what we're doing, and you just can't rely on the NBA brand and the Magic brand to do that,” Freeman explains.
“It was years of coming over here, establishing the right relationships, meeting the right people, and then having them introduce us to companies that may be interested in a commercial partnership. This was years in the making, three or four years of relationships and meetings, and then working with those business partners to be able to get us through.”
With Germany’s recent international success – winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup and 2025 FIBA EuroBasket – basketball is on the rise in the territory and considered the fastest-growing team sport in Germany, and the second-most popular behind soccer.
With basketball fandom soaring in Germany, the Magic are strengthening their connection to the region. This season, the Magic’s Instagram following from Germany has increased 37% YoY.
“The Orlando Magic want to become the second favorite club for many people outside the USA, regardless of the sport,” Magic chief sales officer Michael Forde says. “An NBA game is a unique experience for many fans.
“When the Magic made its first NBA Finals appearance in the mid-1990s, stacked with legendary players, Germans were already traveling to see games. Today, interest is significantly greater, and we will continue to build on that existing fandom—confident that for new basketball fans, a visit to a Magic game will create lifelong interest.”
As well as Deutsche Telekom, the Magic recently announced a tie-up with the Visit Orlando tourism body, and additional international partnerships with AIDA Cruises, Domino’s, Kellogg’s, and ThreatLocker.
As part of its Global Games itinerary, the Magic activated a week-long slate of fan, community, partner, and business events in Berlin and London, which plays into the organization’s broader international strategy centered on fan development, commercial partnerships, B2B engagement, youth basketball, and destination marketing.
In 2022, the NFL launched a Global Markets Program, awarding clubs international marketing rights to build brand awareness and fandom beyond the US, through fan engagement, events, and commercial opportunities.
Last year, the league’s program included all 32 clubs, with 21 international markets represented.
Despite not formally rolling out the same initiative for its 30 teams, the NBA has given marketing rights to franchises in various global markets, which the Magic are taking full advantage of.
“It's not the formal structure that the NFL has shifted to, but the NBA has allowed teams now to go into various markets with the rights,” Freeman shares. “So, it’s not the same system, but similarly, we've got rights now as teams, and that's part of the international program that the league has developed, and that's what's allowed us to do what we've been able to do.
“In the past, we would not have been able to come over to Germany and have the commercial opportunities that we've had, or to come to London and do that. This is the first time we've ever played two games in two different cities. To be able to come to two markets on the same trip speaks volumes for how the NBA is trying to change and grow the program.
“This was a nine-day trip for us, and from an NFL perspective, it's very similar in terms of time length, and we have those commercial opportunities. Hopefully, this is something that we will continue to do.”
NBA Europe
The NBA Global Games were this year being played amid the backdrop of the NBA’s plans to launch a European league in partnership with the sport’s international governing body, FIBA.
In December, FIBA and the NBA publicly outlined their plans, with October 2027 earmarked as a potential launch date. The two organizations first announced plans for a new 16-team European league in March 2025 and have since brought in JP Morgan Chase and Raine Group as strategic advisors, with the search for teams and ownership groups now underway.
Commissioner Adam Silver used the recent trip to Europe to provide more details, revealing that discussions with investors, arena real estate developers, existing teams, and prospective commercial partners have already taken place and will continue throughout this exploratory process.
Within the planned 16-team league would be 12 permanent franchises, with target countries for those teams including the UK (with the potential host cities there being London and Manchester), France (Paris and Lyon), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Rome and Milan), Germany (Munich and Berlin), Greece (Athens) and Turkey (Istanbul).
“It goes back to David Stern (the late former NBA commissioner) and his vision to make this game global,” Freeman says, sharing his perspective on the league’s proposed project.
“For us, we've been able to be a part of all these NBA global games. For the league in Europe, that's really for Adam Silver and his team to work through and look at. It's about growing the game globally – 35% to 40% of all NBA players are international, and six of the last most valuable players in the NBA were international players.
“It's just a natural affiliation to continue to grow the game globally, and we're excited to see what they're able to come up with and how that can help us as a game continue to grow on an international scale.”
Eight European teams attended a private meeting with the NBA and FIBA in London last month – Barcelona, Panathinaikos, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Olimpia Milano, and Asvel, alongside soccer side AC Milan and Alba Berlin, which recently defected from the EuroLeague after 24 years to join the FIBA-organized Basketball Champions League.
Key points discussed in the meeting included financial projections on NBA Europe and talks with potential investors, business partners, and sponsors. Executives of soccer clubs without basketball teams were also present at the meeting.
Asked if an NBA Europe league could cannibalize interest in the NBA’s international games, Freeman replies: “We look at it as additive. NBA Europe will be its own league. It’ll be for Adam and [deputy commissioner] Mark Tatum to decide at the league level.
“But we still want to continue to grow the game, and it might allow us to go to other cities throughout the world that maybe we haven't been to. The great things that I expect from NBA Europe will allow us to go around the world.”
Whether the NBA Europe project gets off the ground and is successful remains to be seen, but regardless, the Magic’s appetite for global growth will continue to be strong.
Read – Deep Dive: NBA Europe project gathers momentum
