Great news for basketball fans in Australia and New Zealand, as ESPN and the NBA have announced they will more than double the amount of games shown live in the two countries.
Of course, people with NBA League Pass or those partial to a casual illegal stream will roll their eyes. But for those with cable subscriptions who have been frustrated by the lack of NBA on Foxtel, occasional fans who like to catch a few games a week, and just for the growth of the game in general, this is awesome news.
In the 2016-17 season, fans in AU/NZ can catch over 200 games across the regular season and playoffs, including a minimum of five live games each week.
In the announcement on the network's website, ESPN also announced the following:
• Up to 188 regular-season games (up from 88 in 2015-16) including five Boxing Day games back-to-back
• Up to 53 playoff games (up from 45 games in 2015-16) including the entirety of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals and every game of the NBA Finals
• NBA All-Star, including the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night and the NBA All-Star Game
• 20 NBA Summer League games
It’s another step forward for basketball in our territory, which now boasts more players in the NBA than ever before. Everyone’s favourite baller Steven Adams is from NZ, while Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Cameron Bairstow, Aron Baynes, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills all rep Australia.
And of course Ben Simmons, Thon Maker and Emmanuel Malou have all declared for the upcoming NBA Draft, making the upcoming season one of the most exciting ever for local fans.
