Why the Maine Celtics haven't played in Mexico City, Boston since 2015

Why the Maine Celtics haven't played in Mexico City, Boston since 2015Story byCeltics WireMon, November 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM UTC·3 min read

As one of the few English-language journalists covering the Mexico City Capitanes, I often see jerseys from the team that I mainly cover for the USA TODAY network at games and around the city. That is of course the Boston Celtics, which I cover for the Celtics Wire on which you are likely reading this article. The reach of the Celtics has grown considerably since I moved here in 2015, with sightings of Celtics gear in the wild shifting from a rare event to a common occurrence as Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and their teammates have risen in prominence in the league.

Most recently, at the 2025 NBA Mexico Game, plenty of Celtics jerseys were visible queueing up to enter Arena Mexico, even though it had been a full decade since Boston had made the trip to the city to participate in the only annual NBA game held outside of the US and Canada.

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This got me thinking about the fact that since their inception nearly a half-decade ago, I couldn't recall the Celtics having played the Capitanes either, and I started poking around to see what might be the cause behind both the Maine and Boston Celtics' recent absence from the area in terms of scheduling.

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Nov 2, 2024; Mexico City, MEXICO; Catrinas perform during a NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards at Arena CDMX. Mandatory Credit: Henry Romero/Reuters via Imagn Images

Maine Celtics head coach Phil Pressey let me know that while he was not in charge of the team's schedule, a trip to Mexico City to play the Capitanes "would be fun."

"For me, being able to see the importance of culture and how the game of basketball is different no matter where you are, I think every player, every coach, should experience a different culture. Because the fans, from what I heard, in Mexico City (are) awesome."

As for why Boston hadn't made the trip to Mexico City to play in a Mexico City Game since they made the trip in 2015 to play the Sacramento Kings, it soon became clear that a conversation with the league office was needed.

Dec 17, 2022; Mexico City, MEX; A Spanish language advertisement for the NBA app featuring Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James at the NBA Mexico City Game 2022 at the Arena de Ciudad de Mexico. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Global Games, it turns out, are filled with teams the NBA has been in conversation with regarding both preseason and in-season opportunities to be on the slate for one of these events, and the league also partners with individual teams to locate markets where they could have ties or interest elevating the product with organic interest.

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As for the G League, the main reason the Maine Celtics have not made the trip to play the Capitanes is simply because there is not much cross-conference play between any teams, with Mexico City playing only about a game per season vs. an Eastern Conference club most years.

So, local Celtics fans in Mexico City may have to wait some time before their favorite ball club plays a game in the G or at the NBA level locally. But now that we have Mexican-Bosnian-American Luka Garza (per his Wikipedia page) and Madrid native Hugo Gonzalez on the roster...anything is possible!

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Why the Maine Celtics haven't played in Mexico City, Boston since 2015

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