As part of the NBA’s Global Games initiative, the league officially announced that five teams will play preseason games in four countries next season, including the Brooklyn Nets playing twice in China.
The Nets will face off against the Sacramento Kings twice: once on October 12th at the Mercedez-Benz Arena in Shanghai, and once on October 15th at the MasterCard Arena in Beijing.
“It’s an honor for us to represent Brooklyn and the League in China,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd said in a prepared statement. “The borough and the Nets have connections to fans all over the world and it’s a great opportunity to play on a major international stage in China.”
The Nets have been involved extensively in the Global Games initiative, first playing two games in London against the Toronto Raptors at the O2 Arena in the 2010-11 season, then two again this year against the Atlanta Hawks. They’ve also toured Russia as part of their offseason in 2010, and Kevin Garnett traveled to China with Nets CEO Brett Yormark in this past offseason. And, of course, they’ve got the only international owner in the NBA in the Russian Mikhail Prokhorov.
