Breakers book meeting against Adams

After an historic clash against the Phoenix Suns last year, the New Zealand Breakers will head back to the United States to take on some of the NBA’s top talent.

The Australian National Basketball League has confirmed the Breakers will again take part in the pre-season event, with a match against the Memphis Grizzlies on October 8 before a meeting against Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 10.

Last year, the Breakers showed they were up to the task of tackling teams in the NBA and had a narrow loss to the Suns.

“That this series is now heading into a third consecutive year is a reflection of the strength of partnership between the NBL and the NBA and the incredible growth and success of basketball in Australia and New Zealand,” ANBL chief executive Jeremy Loeliger said. “The NBL is now one of the premier basketball leagues

in the world outside the NBA and we can’t wait for October.”

NBA Asia vice-president of global partnerships Francesco Suarez added: “There’s never been a better time to be a basketball fan in Australia and New Zealand. Excitement around the game is an all-time high, and for the third consecutive year, fans can look forward to a competitive series of games featuring some of the best players in the NBL and NBA.”

While the regular season schedule for the ANBL was yet to be announced, the season was expected to start on the first weekend of October, meaning the Breakers would not feature in the first week of the competition as they will be Stateside.

The matches will be the first chance for Breakers fans to see top American recruit RJ Hampton in action on court, with the young guard a projected lottery pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

The NBA has a growing presence of New Zealand and Australian talent.

In the 2018-19 season, 15 players from the two countries took to the court at the NBA level, while a number of others work around the league in coaching, front office and player welfare roles.