GBR - London to host NBA games in Olympic push

LONDON (NBA/Olympic Games) - The NBA has announced two regular-season games to be played in London next year as part of the league's push to promote basketball in Britain ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.

NBA commissioner David Stern announced that the Toronto Raptors will play the New Jersey Nets at the O2 Arena on March 4 and 5.

This year will be the fourth straight year in which the NBA has hosted a pre-season game at the O2, with the Minnesota Timberwolves set to take on the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers in October.

But Stern had already promised to bring a regular-season game to the British capital and is now making good on the deal.

"To me this is the next step in the progression about which we spoke leading up the London Olympics, which for us present an extraordinary opportunity for the continued growth of basketball in Europe and the NBA," Stern said.

Stern believes the Raptors and Nets are the ideal teams for the game due to the strong international influence on their rosters. Several players involved in the game are likely to be back in London in 2012 to play in the Olympics.

"With the Raptors and Nets they're going to have, possibly but not certainly if they change their rosters, players from France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Lithuania...this is going to demonstrate the global representation in this sport and lets fans appreciate what globalisation has meant to the sport.

"We want to capture the imagination of fans all over the world and it's very important to lead into the 2012 Olympics."

By bringing a full-blooded regular-season game to London, Stern wants to show fans the game at its very best.

"We want to give as much support to the 2012 Olympics as we can," he said. "The London Olympics are going to focus many current and prospective NBA fans on our sport and it's going to make basketball shine as a sport of passion, intensity and teamwork, and a great deal of diversity and inclusiveness."

Stern added that if the event was a success, further regular-season games could return to London in the future.

Stern also voiced his support for the Great Britain team as they bid to qualify for the EuroBasket, a bid that has begun with a 2-0 record to further boost the profile of basketball in the country.

"I know there has been a lot of coverage recently of the Great Britain team leading up to EuroBasket," Stern said. "I think it's great the sport is getting this coverage and I hope it will continue to get it in a positive way as sports fans in the UK get to see basketball at the highest level.

"I'm not allowed to root too hard for international teams, but it would be great if Team GB could demonstrate its prowess and Luol (Deng) and Pops (Mensah-Bonsu) do well."

FIBA