The Washington Wizards and New York Knicks will be featured in next year’s NBA regular-season game in London, the league announced Wednesday.
The matchup, to be staged January 17 at the O2 Arena, will be the NBA’s ninth regular-season game in London and the third for the Knicks, who faced the Detroit Pistons in 2013 and Milwaukee Bucks in 2015. The Wizards will be playing in London for the first time.
“We’ve been playing regular-season match-ups in London for nearly a decade and over that time the games and the surrounding festivities have grown into the equivalent of an NBA All-Star experience transported to Europe,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
“Fans and partners from across the continent come to celebrate basketball and enjoy the excitement and experience of an NBA game.”
The Wizards feature All-Star guards Bradley Beal and John Wall as well as Polish center Marcin Gortat.
“It will be an honor to represent the Washington Wizards organization as we play our first game in the UK,” Wall said. “I look forward to connecting with our fans in London and using the experience to further bond as a team.”
The Knicks, who replaced Jeff Hornacek as coach with David Fizdale after missing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, are sparked by Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis, French guard Frank Ntilikina and US guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
“I am excited to return to London,” Hardaway said. “We had a great experience during our last visit in 2015 playing in front of passionate fans and are looking forward to another trip overseas.” – Agence France-Presse
