NBA showdowns back on

The NBLxNBA preseason games are poised to return once travel and timings allow according to NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger.

“Based on conversations since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have every aspiration and expectation NBL teams will participate in the NBA preseason once international travel resumes and the timing of our respective seasons normalise,” Loeliger said via Newscorp.

“Certainly, our understanding is the NBAxNBL preseason games, to date, have been perceived as mutually beneficial and have been fundamental in continuing to foster relationships between NBA and NBL clubs, which is extremely healthy for our league and our sport.”

NBLxNBA games were first introduced in 2017 and 15 matches have been played with the latest being in October 2019 when Melbourne United played the Sacramento Kings.

United remains the closest an NBL team has come to beating an NBA counterpart, when they lost to a star-studded Oklahoma City Thunder squad by just one point in 2017.