The National Basketball League and Basketball Australia are in "advanced talks" for Australian NBA players to play an int'l game on home soil, "most likely in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup in China," according to Matt Logue of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. NBL Owner Larry Kestelman confirmed discussions to "bring the likes of Ben Simmons, Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova Down Under to represent the Boomers are positive and progressing." There have "long been calls" for Australia to host an NBA preseason game but Kestelman is "aiming for a broader approach," with every Australian NBA player to partake in a "historic" home int'l. The game would "double as the perfect preparation for the World Cup and a celebration" of local talent who have "gone on to star on basketball’s biggest global stage." Basketball Australia CEO Anthony Moore "first floated the idea" of the Boomers playing Team USA in Australia prior to the 2019 World Cup. Kestelman said, "We deserve to see our NBA guys playing in Australia and that's what we want to see" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 12/27).
