Melbourne will make sporting history this weekend when it hosts the first ever NBA games in Australia, in what is a slam dunk for the city’s major events calendar.
The landmark NBA x NBL Melbourne Series tips off on Friday, 3 October at Rod Laver Arena when the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans face Melbourne United, followed by a second clash against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday, 5 October.
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos today joined Pelicans superstars to launch the series – which is set to attract visitors from across Australia and overseas.
“The NBA x NBL series marks a groundbreaking new chapter for basketball in Australia, and Victoria is proud to once again lead the way in bringing some of the world’s best to local fans,” said Mr Dimopoulos.
“This is a slam dunk for Victoria, with major events like these providing benefits huge economic benefit to Melbourne, with visitors also filling restaurants, cafes bars, hotels and shops.”
NBA Hall of Famers, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, will be in Melbourne to celebrate the historic games and fans will have the opportunity to hear from the superstars during an on-court Q&A during the open session – with the legends to also appear at Saturday’s Fan Night.
Both games will be broadcast live to more than 200 countries and territories on NBA League Pass. At home, fans can view the games live on Channel 10 and Amazon Prime.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a long-term vision: the NBL working together with the NBA and the Victorian Government to bring the world’s best basketball to our fans,” said NBL Group Executive Chairman, Larry Kestelman.
“As these games are broadcast worldwide, they’ll showcase the Victoria’s incredible vibrancy while also inspiring the next generation.”
“My thanks to Minister Steve Dimopoulos, Visit Victoria and the NBA for their partnership and belief. This is just the beginning of what we can achieve together.”
Australia now boasts more than a dozen active players currently on NBA rosters, and Melbourne is the only city in the modern NBA era to produce three number one overall draft picks – Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving and Andrew Bogut.
Melbourne is also now the only city in Australia to host the NBA, National Hockey League (NHL) and next year, the National Football League (NFL) – three of the ‘big four’ American professional sports leagues.
Limited tickets remain for the NBA x NBL series. To purchase, please visit premier.ticketek.com.au.
