The NBA will play an exhibition game in South Africa on August 1. It will be the first time the league has organized a game on African soil, but more could be on the horizon. When asked about the possibility of the NBA having a regular-season game on the continent, Silver didn’t dismiss the idea, saying that this first step was “an experiment of sorts.”
Adam Silver wants NBA to play a game in Africa eventually
The NBA is playing its first-ever exhibition game in Africa on Saturday, but the commissioner says this is only the first step. A preseason game and more will hopefully follow in the “not-too-distant future.”
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“Part of why I’m here is to continue to investigate new facilities,” Silver told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “We would want a larger, more modern arena for a regular or pre-season game here. And it’s also to test the response here. These things just take time. But I’m very confident that in the not-too-distant future we will be playing, to begin with, a pre-season game on the continent of Africa.”
The league has played pre-season and regular season games in Europe and China in an effort to expand its brand abroad, and Africa could be next in line. The challenge will be to find a facility suited to hosting an NBA game. Saturday’s event will be held in a 4,000 seat arena, much too small for anything other than an exhibition.
The expansion of the NBA brand to Africa seems like a natural progression to the plan to become a truly global league. There has been an influx of African-born players or players of second-generation African descent in the past 30 years and those stars should provide a path for basketball to break through on a continent where soccer is king.
The league has put some serious effort into this first step, with Chris Paul, the Gasol brothers, Luol Deng and other high-level players making the trip. Not only is there star power on the court, but also on the sidelines, with coaches Gregg Popovich, Mike Budenholzer and Lionel Hollins making the trip. Silver himself is there as the league's ambassador.
It’s probably going to take a few years before Africa is ready to host an NBA game but the league appears committed to making it happen.
The exhibition will be broadcast by ESPN on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. ET.
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