The Accor Arena in Paris will be the neutral battleground for one of the fiercest rivalries in the NBA as the Chicago Bulls take on the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

The Bulls – synonymous with the great Michael Jordan – are underperforming but have a roster some believe should be challenging for their divisional title and even the overall championship.

Their rivals, meanwhile, have one of the youngest squads in the league and can consider themselves in the midst of a rebuilding process.

Whether you’re an NBA regular, a casual fan, or basketball newbie, here are five reasons to watch the game.

A chance to see Zach LaVine defy gravity

Thanks to players such as Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, shooting from long range is the go-to tactic of choice used by most teams. However, the raw aggression and athleticism of the slam dunk still remains the primary crowd-pleaser at most basketball games.

There have been few better practitioners of the art than Zach LaVine, indeed the 27-year-old Bulls player is a two-time NBA Slam Dunk champion. He’s developed his game to not have to rely on dunking but he’s always been someone eager to give the crowd what they want.

“If I get away on the fast break, I will definitely try and do something,” he told BBC Sport.

“My days of being in the dunk contest may have passed me by, but I can still get up there and dunk with the best of them.”

The return of Killian Hayes

This fixture is a rare chance for European fans to see the giants of the game up close – so expect to see all 30 NBA teams represented in the crowd.

The Accor Arena can seat upwards of 20,000 people and in years gone by support for the competing teams has often been equal. That won’t be the case this year, and in fact it may well feel like a home game for the Pistons given they have Frenchman Killian Hayes in their ranks.

Playing in Paris is something of a homecoming for the 21-year-old point guard. Though born in Florida, he grew up in Cholet, western France and has represented the country as a junior.

“I am definitely excited and happy for Killian,” team-mate Marvin Bagley III told BBC Sport.

“He doesn’t really get to come back at this time of year because of the season and the schedule but I hope he does well and I hope we come home with the win.”

‘Bad Boys’ and ‘The Jordan Rules’

The height of the sporting rivalry between Chicago and Detroit was the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. In short, the Pistons had been the dominant team in that region but, thanks largely to Jordan, the Bulls had become a threat to that supremacy.

When the teams played, Jordan would often score the bulk of the points for his team – so the Pistons decided the best way to prevent that was to get the ball out of his hands… by any means necessary.

That often resulted in sending multiple defenders at him but also, at times, using methods that wouldn’t look out of place on a American football field.

The Pistons were given the nickname ‘Bad Boys’ by the media, and their tactics when facing the Bulls became known as ‘The Jordan Rules’.

They didn’t always work, of course, as Jordan ended his career a six-time NBA champion and arguably the game’s greatest ever player.

“The older Bulls fans still haven’t forgiven the Pistons, even though Chicago ended up on the more successful side of it,” said Sam Smith, who writes for the Bulls website and has been covering the NBA for more than 40 years.

“The rivalry still exists but it’s different to how it was because the Pistons have been mostly uncompetitive since then. I think they need to be competitive for it to be what it was.

“The older fans hold grudges, but the younger ones not so much.”

A chance to see ‘the future’ – Victor Wembanyama

Some of the biggest names in professional basketball will be on show, but the biggest cheer of the night may well come when the camera pans to Victor Wembanyama.

If you don’t already know the name, it won’t be long before you do. The 19-year-old plays in France for Metropolitans 92 but is widely expected to be the number one overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

Listed at 7ft 4in and with an 8ft wingspan, in basketball circles the teenager is what’s known as a ‘unicorn’ – a player who can do it all.

Wembanyama has the shot-blocking and rebounding attributes of a classic big man but also has the ball-handling and shooting of a speedy smaller player too.

A big factor in the NBA taking the game to international arenas is to attract new fans – but also to inspire youngsters outside the United States to take up the sport.

Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Serbia’s Nikola Jokic and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic are already household names in the NBA, and it won’t long before another European star is challenging the best the US has to offer.

Bulls player DeMar DeRozan told BBC Sport the influx of international talent continues to force American players to improve their games.

“There’s so many European players that came and set the tone,” DeRozan said. “One of my favourite players growing up was Dirk Nowitzki.

“Their unique skillsets set them apart, and you see the culture of that growing more and more. It’s great to see.

“I could name so many other players who have taken our game to the next level.”

A star-studded front row

In his hit song Empire State of Mind, rapper Jay Z famously said “I could trip a referee…” It was a nod to how close he is to the action at basketball games.

In the US, it’s common to see the biggest names in film, music or fashion courtside, where tickets can cost tens of thousands of pounds and beyond.

In Paris, expect the same – and don’t be surprised to see a Premier League footballer or two either.