NBA Returns to China
With the Major League Baseball trading deadline nine days away, the National Basketball Association grabbed some of the news limelight Wednesday when the league announced it is returning to China this fall when the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers take the long road to Beijing for a 2009 pre-season game on October 11.
The game will mark the re-opening of the refurbished 17,000-seat Wukesong Arena, the same venue used in the basketball competition at last year’s Beijing Olympics.
With Yao Ming out for the entire season due to foot problems, the NBA tapped the Nuggets who advanced to the Western Conference finals before falling to eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.
“The Wukesong Arena is an outstanding facility that we are proud to call the home of the NBA in Beijing,” NBA China chief executive Tim Chen said in a press released sent out by the NBA.
The pre-season game is just part of an extensive effort by the NBA to feature its game in Asia and around the world this fall. Other pre-season games include:
* The Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz playing in London on October 6th
* The Utah Jazz will entertain the Euroleague’s Real Madrid in Madrid on October 8th
* The Phoenix Suns and the Philadelphia 76ers are scheduled to meet in Monterrey, Mexico on Oct. 18.
* Taiwan will also see its first ever NBA game when the Nuggets and Pacers will play in Taipei on Oct. 8.
Overall it appears to be a very aggressive pre-season for a handful of NBA players and their respective teams. According to the press release, the NBA has staged a total of 93 games outside of the U.S. and Canada in 31 cities in 16 countries and territories.
You can read the official release by the NBA, click on the logo above.
