Courtside, Episode 24: BeBasket Accelerates on NBA and US Basketball, Without Abandoning Its DNA

BeBasket is about to reach a new milestone. In the 24th episode of Courtside, Gabriel Pantel-Jouve detailed the media outlet’s new direction, which aims to strengthen its coverage of the NBA, the WNBA, and US basketball more broadly, without reducing its historically strong coverage of French basketball. A strategic evolution, presented as a return to BeBasket’s origins, in a context where the boundaries between different basketball worlds are increasingly blurring.

A Return to BeBasket’s Roots

Originally, BeBasket was not exclusively focused on French basketball. Gabriel Pantel-Jouve recalled that when the outlet launched under the name Catch and Shoot, the project covered all basketball news, from the NBA to the EuroLeague and national teams.

Very quickly, during the 2010-2011 offseason, the outlet refocused on French basketball in response to an editorial gap. There was no media outlet capable of centralizing all French basketball news, and demand proved strong. Meanwhile, several pure players were already covering the NBA.

BeBasket had already attempted a foray into US basketball with basketamericain.com, launched in 2012, when Gabriel Pantel-Jouve was heading to North America. This parallel site ran for two years, supported by a small on-the-ground team able to deliver news, analysis, and exclusive interviews. The venture ended in 2014, when BeBasket launched in its current form.

Today, the context has changed. The outlet has grown, its stats database has expanded, and basketball news has become more globalized than ever.

Why BeBasket Is Betting More on the NBA Now

For Gabriel Pantel-Jouve, this shift is as much about timing as it is about editorial logic. On one hand, French players are increasingly present in the American ecosystem — in the NBA, the G League, and soon even more so in the NCAA. On the other hand, the NBA itself is drawing closer to Europe, including through expansion projects on the continent.

In Courtside, responding to questions from Maxime Bodilis — who takes on the role of editor-in-chief of the NBA section — he also explains that the divide between NBA fans and followers of FIBA or EuroLeague basketball seems less and less relevant to him. The game is converging, audiences are moving more freely between competitions, and the internet has broken down many barriers.

Above all, BeBasket now has a platform capable of handling this expansion. Since 2023, the site has experienced significant growth and has integrated multi-league player profiles and statistics, including for the NBA and G League. This technical foundation now makes it possible to go further.

Enhanced NBA Coverage on the Site, Without Sacrificing French Basketball

The message driven home in Courtside #24 is clear: this intensification of NBA coverage will not come at the expense of BeBasket’s core content. Betclic ELITE, ELITE 2, NM1, women’s basketball, youth basketball, men’s and women’s EuroLeague, various European cups, and the French national teams will all continue to hold a central place on the site.

However, readers will also find much denser coverage of NBA news: overnight results, statements, injuries, game highlights, minor controversies, and hot topics of the moment.

Gabriel Pantel-Jouve stresses one point: the goal is not to publish for the sake of publishing, but to cover news that, by nature, never stops. With time zones, competitions, and the proliferation of public statements, basketball now produces compelling content to cover almost continuously.

This change will also translate into increased weekend publishing, particularly around overnight NBA news — a priority that should become more structurally important at BeBasket.

Tools to Avoid Alienating Long-Time Readers

This evolution inevitably raises a question: how do you add more NBA content without disrupting the experience of BeBasket’s long-time readers? That is one of the challenges discussed in the podcast.

The outlet is working on better content organization on its site, both on mobile and desktop, with the goal of allowing each reader to easily find the topics they care about. Gabriel Pantel-Jouve mentions the ongoing thinking around « My News » and, more broadly, how to make multiple content worlds coexist without disorienting the audience.

The early signs are actually reassuring for BeBasket: the recent increase in NBA publishing has not triggered any particular backlash, while traffic continues to grow. In other words, there does appear to be demand for a broader offer that brings together the best of French and global basketball.

Separate Social Media Accounts to Structure This New Offer

On social media too, BeBasket wants to avoid mixing all audiences together. The outlet is keeping its existing accounts while simultaneously developing dedicated NBA accounts.

On Facebook, a BeBasket NBA page has been created to host the majority of content related to the big league. The same logic applies on X, with a dedicated account, while Instagram also has a BeBasket NBA account. TikTok, for now, will remain more general.

Ja Morant se projette avec les Metropolitans 92 : « On espère arriver en NBA Europe » 🔥

4 mois après les premiers communiqués, la star des Grizzlies a pris la parole sur son investissement au sein du club de Levallois 📢

Pour en savoir plus 👉https://t.co/V8AiWQjLZ8

— BeBasket NBA (@BeBasketNBA) April 17, 2026

This separation should allow for better audience targeting and avoid overwhelming long-time readers or followers with content they may not be looking for. At the same time, it gives BeBasket new levers to establish its brand in US basketball.

Gabriel Pantel-Jouve also shared some figures on the outlet’s current social media momentum. He highlighted the steady growth of BeBasket’s main Facebook page, which went from fewer than 100,000 followers in June 2025 to 111,000 in April 2026, with some days approaching one million impressions.

Courtside Could Also Expand Its NBA Coverage

The evolution is not limited to the website and social media. The Courtside podcast itself could take on a bigger role in covering the NBA.

Gabriel Pantel-Jouve and Maxime Bodilis discussed the possibility of increasing audio coverage of the American league, including beyond the sole lens of French players. The ongoing playoff storylines, franchise trajectories, disappointments, and current dynamics could fuel more regular formats.

The idea would also be to open up more dialogue with listeners, to build a more interactive analysis and opinion-based show.

The WNBA Is Also Part of the Plan

Beyond the NBA, BeBasket also intends to more fully integrate the WNBA into its new editorial offer. In Courtside #24, Gabriel Pantel-Jouve notes that American women’s basketball is also going through a major acceleration, with profound changes in its ecosystem.

The ambition is therefore broader than a simple NBA pivot: the goal is to make BeBasket a complete basketball platform, capable of connecting in a single day ELITE 2 playoffs, French Cup finals, EuroLeague playoffs, NBA playoffs, and the start of the WNBA season.

BeBasket Wants to Become a Total Basketball Platform

At its core, the message of Courtside #24 comes down to one simple idea: BeBasket is not changing its nature, but expanding its playing field. By strengthening its coverage of the NBA, WNBA, and US basketball, the outlet wants to keep pace with the evolution of modern basketball — increasingly global, constant, and interconnected.

Gabriel Pantel-Jouve sums up this ambition by noting that basketball never stops. From Asia to North America, there is always something to analyze, tell, or share. And BeBasket now wants to be present across that entire map.