The NBA returns overseas to the United Kingdom Thursday as the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics square-off for a regular season showdown in London.
Why are the 76ers and Celtics playing in London?
Boston and Philadelphia travel overseas to play in England Thursday.
twitter.com/Celtics
Wait, wait, wait — there’s a game in London?
Uhhhh. Yes.
Why is the NBA playing in London?
It’s part of a global initiative to help expand the NBA’s reach well beyond the North American borders, and judging by the game’s growing popularity overseas, it’s working pretty well.
Remember all those games that were played over in Asia? There have been 36 combined preseason and regular season matchups played in Japan, China, and Taiwan dating back to 1990, and even more games spread out across the globe in countries like Mexico, Brazil, France, and Spain.
So far, regular season NBA games have been played in Japan, Mexico City, and since 2011, London as part of a push into Europe. The 76ers vs. Celtics matchup will be the eighth regular season game played in the UK.
So it’s the 76ers and Celtics?
Yes, and it should be a pretty good game, too.
Both the 76ers and Celtics enter Thursday night’s game as winners of their last four contests. Boston is led by Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, and a cast of young, athletic guard and wings who have vaulted the C’s into the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed.
Philadelphia is powered by youth, and its two horses — Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons — and is poised to make a playoff appearance for the first time since 2013.
Here are the rosters, including players with international origins. The players to watch are italicized:
Philadelphia: Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Furkan Korkmaz (Turkey), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (France), Dario Saric (Croatia), Ben Simmons (Australia) | Robert Covington, J.J. Redick, T.J. McConnell, Trevor Booker, Richaun Holmen, Jerryd Bayless, Justin Anderson, Amir Johnson, Jacob Pullen, James Michael McAdoo, James Young, Markelle Fultz (OUT, shoulder)
Boston: Aron Baynes (Australia), Al Horford (Dominican Republic), Abdel Nader (Egypt), Daniel Theis (Germany), Guerschon Yabusele (France) | Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jabari Bird, Kadeem Allen, Shane Larkin, Marcus Morris, Semi Ojeleye, Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Gordon Hayward (OUT, ankle)
Are they in London yet?
Yup, and they’re soaking up all the vibes.
The 76ers had quite the photoshoot
Boston let the leprechaun loose in London (that’s a lot of Ls):
Here’s Horford trying his best English accent:
The 76ers tried to guess which meals originated in the UK:
What’s been said in London?
Here’s Simmons briefly talking about playing in the UK:
“It’s gonna be fun. New place, new environment. So it’s gonna be exciting to be playing in front of different fans.”
76ers coach Brett Brown was appreciative of the travel opportunity for his players:
“To have our American players have a chance to travel because by and large a lot of them haven’t had that experience. Whether it’s just hearing a different accent, plugging something in a wall that’s not the same sort of currency and all that, it interests me. Driving on the other side of the road, different ways to say something, different food, all that is something that you’d like to have our players experience. It all adds up to growing a team, to sharing something that’s collaborative with our group, and I think this event brings all those type of things out.”
Jaylen Brown is dreaming
Brown is going to the Chelsea vs. Arsenal soccer (or football) matchup Wednesday and thinks this could be the moment one of his childhood dreams could come true:
“I remember I had a dream when I was like seven years old and I played in the Premier League for, I don’t know — it was like [Manchester United], I don’t remember what team I was on,” he said, via Celtics.com’s Marc D’Amico. “But I had a dream that I was running onto the soccer field and they were all screaming and chanting my name. Hopefully that comes true, but I doubt it.”
Other things players have said:
Simmons: “I’ve never played here, so this will be the first time playing basketball in the UK for me. When we’ll walk in the arena, it’s going to look a little different, but once the ball is in the air it’s going to be the same thing as everywhere else.”
Embiid: “I’m excited, it’s a chance for me to show the crowd my skills, to show the whole world what I can do.”
Covington: “This is a once in a lifetime experience. Not too many people get to do what we’re doing here in London.”
(via The Week)
OK, OK. I get it. This is kind of a big deal. So how do I watch?
The game will tip-off at 3 p.m. ET and will be aired nationally on NBA TV, as well as online on NBA League Pass and BT Sport. The game will also be live streamed on BT Sport’s Facebook page.
How to watch
Where: O2 Arena, London, England
When: 3 p.m. ET
Channel: NBA TV, CSN, CSNN
Live Stream: BT Sport, NBA League Pass, BT Sport on Facebook
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