NBA Melbourne matches: Anthony Davis, Josh Giddey, Kawhi Leonard could be part of Australia games at Rod Laver
Some of the NBA’s biggest stars could be heading Down Under after it was revealed that one or several exhibition games against an NBL side or NBL All-Star team will be played in Melbourne later this year.
A day after it was announced that the MCG would host a regular season NFL match a week before the AFL finals in September, starting in 2026, it has been reported that the NBA will follow suit.
The games will be played at Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park in October this year as part of the NBA preseason build-up.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.NBL teams have been travelling to the USA since 2017 to play against NBA teams in preseason matches. This will be the first time that NBA teams will travel to Australia to play.
The games could include the Atlanta Hawks, featuring Australian Dyson Daniels and star guard Trae Young, the Dallas Mavericks, which now feature Anthony Davis alongside Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson and Australian Dante Exum, the Chicago Bulls, who Australian star Josh Giddey plays for, and the LA Clippers, featuring Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden or the Houston Rockets, who have Australian Jock Landale, The Herald Sun reports.
The NBL sides to play the NBA teams could include the two Victorian teams, Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix, or the Sydney Kings, while an NBL All-Stars team could also be on the cards.
If the venture proves successful, the deal with the Victorian Government could be extended to a multi-year deal.
“It will be sold out regardless of who comes,” Australian NBA champion Andrew Bogut told News Corp. “It is going to be NBA versus NBL … it is exciting. It will probably be Chicago or Atlanta, one of those squads, which will be awesome. There is no doubt, if you had one of those play against even the cricket team, it would sell out.”
The NBA has taken regular season matches to Mexico, England and Japan as part of its move to expand the game globally and played preseason games in more than a dozen countries, including China, India, Spain and the UAE.
