TOKYO – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Rakuten Inc. (Rakuten), the NBA’s exclusive live-game distribution partner in Japan and the presenting partner of The NBA Japan Games 2019, today announced that the NBA Draft 2019 will be livestreamed to fans in Japan for free.

The NBA Draft 2019 livestream will be available to fans in Japan on Friday, June 21 at 8:00 a.m. JST on Twitter through @nbajpn with Japanese commentary.  The livestream will include an exclusive interview with Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura, who is poised to become the first Japanese player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Along with the livestream on Twitter, the NBA Draft 2019 will also be available for free on Rakuten’s video-on-demand service, Rakuten TV.  Throughout the 2018-19 NBA season, Rakuten TV featured nine games each week in local language via the Rakuten NBA Special subscription package.

The NBA Draft 2019 will be held at the Barclays Center in New York City.

In March, the NBA and Rakuten announced The NBA Japan Games 2019, which will mark the league’s 13^th and 14^th games in Japan.  The 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets will play on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and Thursday, Oct. 10 at Saitama Super Arena.  For an overview of the NBA Japan Games 2019 ticket packages available, fans can visit https://event.tv.rakuten.co.jp/nba_japan_games_2019.

Follow the NBA on Facebook (facebook.com/nbajapan) and Twitter (@nbajpn) for all the latest news and updates.  Fans can purchase NBA merchandise through NBAStore.jp, the official online NBA store in Japan.  For all things NBA, visit www.nba.co.jp.