The NBA Global Games are a series of games featuring NBA teams that are played outside the United States and Canada. Its purpose is to bring teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) to play games against either another NBA team or a foreign club.
The games themselves are played under NBA rules, which differ slightly from the FIBA rules under which the foreign teams normally play. Court markings and dimensions also differ slightly.
The first official overseas game featuring an NBA team was an exhibition matchup between the Washington Bullets and Maccabi Tel Aviv on September 7, 1978. The then-defending champions lost 98–97 at the Yad Eliyahu Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Bullets would play three more exhibition games the following year in Beijing and Shanghai in China, and in Quezon City in the Philippines.
In 1984, a series of exhibition matches pitting the New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics against local European clubs were held in Israel, Italy, West Germany and Switzerland. Then in 1988, the Atlanta Hawks played against the Soviet Union national basketball team in a three-game series in Tbilisi, Vilnius and Moscow, becoming the first NBA team to play in the Soviet Union.
In 1987, the McDonald's Championship was introduced. While the first edition was held in Milwaukee, the following editions of the event were held in Europe, with the NBA teams emerging victorious against their European counterparts in each staging. The McDonald's Championship was discontinued in 1999.
The first regular season NBA games outside North America were held in Tokyo, Japan in 1990, with the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz splitting the two-game series. Since then four other editions of the NBA Japan Games were held, with the last games being played in Saitama in 2003.
In 1991, the Miami Heat and the Washington Bullets played a preseason game in Nassau, Bahamas, marking the first NBA preseason game in the Caribbean. The following year, the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks played a preseason game in Mexico City, in the first NBA game held in Latin America. Several other preseason matches would follow in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (under the name NBA Challenge), but it was not until 1997 that the NBA decided to hold its first regular season game in Latin America, featuring the Mavericks and the Rockets in Mexico City.
While the NBA has had a history of sending teams to Europe to play against the local clubs, it was not until 1993 that the league decided to send two of its teams to Europe to play a pair of preseason matches against each other. An exhibition series between the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks was held in London, United Kingdom, a precursor of what would later be called the NBA Europe Live Tour. Further games were held in Italy, France, Germany, Russia, Spain and Turkey. It was not until 2011, however, that a regular season matchup was first played in Europe. The first regular season games in London pitted the New Jersey Nets against the Toronto Raptors, with the Nets sweeping the two-game series.
In 2004, the NBA held a pair of preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing, as part of the NBA China Games. The two-game series between the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets also marked the homecoming of sorts for Yao Ming, who as the top overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft and a perennial all-star, helped popularize the NBA in China. The China Games eventually became a regular in the NBA's preseason schedule.
In 2013, the NBA decided to unify its overseas tours under one banner: the "NBA Global Games". [1] The newly renamed event witnessed the first NBA preseason game held in Southeast Asia, with the Indiana Pacers and the Houston Rockets facing each other in the Philippines. In addition, a preseason game between the Washington Wizards and the Chicago Bulls in Brazil marked the first NBA preseason match in South America. The league was scheduled to hold a pair of regular season matches in Mexico and United Kingdom, but the game in Mexico City between the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 4 never started due to a generator malfunction inside the Mexico City Arena, and was postponed to April 8, 2014, at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The 2014 NBA Global Games began in October with two San Antonio Spurs friendlies versus EuroLeague teams Alba Berlin and Fenerbahçe Ülker at Berlin and Istanbul respectively. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat played a preseason game at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Then the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings played two matches at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and the MasterCard Center in Beijing. Like the previous season, two regular season Global Games were scheduled in Mexico City and London; the Mexico City game between the Timberwolves and the Rockets on November 12 was played without incident.
For the 2015–16 season, the NBA scheduled two regular season games to be played outside the United States and Canada. The first game, between the Boston Celtics and the Sacramento Kings, was scheduled to be played on December 3, 2015, at the Mexico City Arena; the Celtics defeated the Kings 114–97. It marked the NBA's third regular-season game in Mexico City. [2] [3] The second game, between the Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors, was played on January 14, 2016, at The O2 Arena in London. It marked the NBA's sixth regular-season game in London. [4] [5]
Following years of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA Global Games returned for the 2022–23 season with two regular season matchups. The NBA Mexico City Game 2022 will see the Heat face the Spurs on December 17, 2022, at the Mexico City Arena in Mexico City. The NBA Paris Game 2023 will feature a matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons on January 19, 2023, at the Accor Arena in Paris. [6]
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did not join the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center was the Colonels' venue for their first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the remaining seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule.
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven-game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the original Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1977, though under the same name.
Joe Marcus Johnson is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iso Joe", he played high school basketball for Little Rock Central High School and college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. After two years with Arkansas, he declared for the 2001 NBA draft where he was drafted 10th overall by the Boston Celtics.
The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship.
The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, after a new six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. All 29 teams played a shortened 50-game-per-team regular season schedule and the 16 teams who qualified for the playoffs played a full post-season schedule. That season's All-Star Game, which would have been held in Philadelphia, was also canceled. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs winning the franchise's first NBA championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the 1999 NBA Finals. This was the 50th season since the BAA and NBL had merged into the NBA.
The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the 1998 NBA Finals. It also marked the departure of Michael Jordan and the end of the dynasty for the Chicago Bulls.
The 1988–89 NBA season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the first season of the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets.
The 2002 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This was the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; the 2003 NBA playoffs saw those series expand to a best-of-7 format. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets 4 games to 0 in the 2002 NBA Finals.Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP for the third straight year.
The 2007 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2006–07 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Tony Parker was named NBA Finals MVP, making him the first Spur other than Tim Duncan and the first European–born player to receive the award.
The Naismith Cup was an annual pre-season National Basketball Association (NBA) exhibition game. From the 1995 season through 2000, it was played between the two Canadian NBA rivals, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, at neutral venues across Canada. The cup was named after James Naismith, the Canadian inventor of basketball, and was originally created to raise money for Canada Basketball, similar to the Pearson Cup competition between Canada's Major League Baseball teams the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos. Following the Grizzlies relocation to Memphis the cup was laid dead, though the Raptors continued the tradition of hosting neutral site pre-season games in Canadian cities under the NBA Canada Series name. The Raptors won the series against Vancouver 4–1.
The 2015–16 NBA season was the 70th season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on October 27, 2015, at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls, with their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 2016 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on February 14, 2016. The regular season ended on April 13, 2016. Golden State's Stephen Curry became the first unanimous MVP in league history. The playoffs started on April 16, 2016, and ended with the 2016 NBA Finals on June 19, 2016, with the Cleveland Cavaliers becoming NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Golden State Warriors in seven games. This would also be the final season for All-Stars and future Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
The 2016 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2015–16 season. The tournament ended with the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers defeating the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors 4 games to 3 after the Warriors led the series 3 games to 1. In the NBA Finals, LeBron James was named NBA Finals MVP.
The 2017–18 NBA season was the 72nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 17, 2017, earlier than previous seasons to reduce the number of "back-to-back" games teams were scheduled to play, with the 2017 Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers hosting a game against the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2018 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 18, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. The regular season ended on April 11, 2018. The playoffs began on April 14, 2018 and ended on June 8 with the Golden State Warriors defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Finals.
The 2019 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2018–19 season. The playoffs began on April 13 and ended on June 13 with the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeating the two-time defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors in 4 games to 2 to win their first title in franchise history. Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals MVP for the first time since 2014.
The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was supposed to end on April 15, 2020. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, at the United Center in Chicago, and was won by Team LeBron, 157–155. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18, and end with the NBA Finals in June.
The 2020 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18. However, the league suspended the season on March 11, 2020, hours after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.
The NBA London Game was an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) game held in London, that was played from 2011 until 2019. It was played at The O2 Arena in London.
The 2020–21 Brooklyn Nets season was the 45th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), 54th season overall, and its ninth season playing in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. On September 3, 2020, the Nets hired Steve Nash as their new head coach.
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