NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) will tip off NBA Global Games 2013 – one of the most comprehensive international preseason schedules in league history – with eight preseason games in eight cities in six countries and territories beginning Oct. 5.

For the 2013-14 season, NBA Global Games includes a total of 12 NBA teams playing 10 games (eight preseason and two regular-season games) in 10 cities in seven countries and territories.  This will be the most NBA teams to play internationally in a single season in the history of the league.  Following these games, the NBA will have staged 148 games (regular season and preseason) in 20 countries and territories across Europe, the Americas and Asia since 1978.

The eight preseason games – which will feature the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards – will include the first-ever NBA preseason games to be held in Brazil and the Philippines, and in the cities of Bilbao, Spain and Manchester, UK.  They will also include games in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, and Istanbul.

All eight games will air live on NBA TV in the U.S. and on NBA LEAGUE PASS International, and will be televised to fans in 215 countries and territories. The NBA will also engage with its social media community of more than 455 million fans and followers on a global basis in real time and provide unprecedented behind-the-scenes access for fans.

In Greater China, fans can watch NBA Global Games on television networks and websites including: CCTV5, Beijing TV, BesTV, Guangdong TV, Now Sport, Videoland Sports, Fox Sports, Chunghwa Telecom, Hinet, cntv.cn, Sina.com, QQ.com and via Taiwan Mobile.  NBA Global Games Manila will be broadcast locally by Studio 23, Basketball Television and NBA Premium. Local partners televising NBA Global Games in Europe include D-Smart in Turkey, Canal+ Deportes HD in Spain, and BT Sports in the UK.   In addition, the games in Europe will be carried for the first time by the following television partners: beIN Sport (France) SuperSport (Pan Africa), and BT Sport (UK).  ESPN Brazil will broadcast NBA Global Games Rio locally.

Multinational and local marketing partners will support NBA Global Games by engaging with fans locally through retail promotions, sweepstakes, and grassroots events. Presenting partners of NBA Global Games include BBVA in Bilbao and Manchester, Turkish Bank Garanti, which is part owned by BBVA, in Istanbul, and ZTE Mobile in Shanghai and Beijing.  This marks the first time there has been a presenting partner for an NBA game in China and the second consecutive year that BBVA and Garanti have presented games in Europe.  Both Shanghai and Brazil will hold NBA Fan Appreciation Day, a free, interactive fan event featuring NBA teams participating in drills and conducting basketball activities.  In Europe and the Philippines, the league will host partner-supported NBA Fan Zones, a free, outdoor fan festival taking place in Bilbao, Manchester, and Manila. The Garanti NBA Arena will feature an NBA quality half-court and serve as a media hub, complete with a broadcast studio that will run an NBA dedicated customized show from the arena.

NBA Cares will conduct community events in all eight cities as part of its commitment to global social responsibility. NBA players and coaches, legends, and executives from the league and the teams will lead the efforts, which will include dedicating a new Learn & Play Center in Beijing, along with basketball clinics, including Special Olympics basketball clinics, some of which will be sponsored by Coca-Cola (Europe) and Sprite (Manila).

The NBA Global Games Europe presented by BBVA (Garanti in Istanbul) schedule tips off with three games in collaboration with long-time partner Euroleague Basketball.  Oklahoma City will open the schedule in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 5 with a game against five-time Turkish champion Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul at the Ulker Sports Arena. Philadelphia will be the first NBA team to play in Bilbao when they take on Bilbao Basket on Oct. 6 at the Bizkaia Arena at the BEC.   The Thunder and 76ers complete their European schedule with a game against each other on Oct. 8 in Manchester at Phones 4u Arena.

The Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets will begin their preseason with a game in Manila, Philippines on Oct. 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena.  The game will mark the first time an NBA team has traveled to the Philippines since the then-Washington Bullets played against a Philippine Basketball Association All-Star team in 1979.   The Pacers and Rockets will then travel to Taipei for a game on Oct. 13 at the Taipei Arena, marking the second NBA game played in Taiwan.

The Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards face each other on Oct. 12 in the first-ever NBA game in Brazil at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.  The game will be a homecoming for the Wizards’ Brazilian native Nenê.

The NBA Global Games preseason schedule will conclude with two games in China between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.  The teams will play on Oct. 15 at the MasterCard Center in Beijing, and then travel to Shanghai for a game at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Oct. 18.

The full 2013-14 NBA Global Games schedule also includes two international regular season games with the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs playing at the Mexico City Arena on Dec. 4, and the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets traveling to the United Kingdom for a game at The O2 on Jan. 16. This will mark the first time the league will stage regular-season games in two countries outside of the U.S. and Canada in the same season.

2013-14 NBA Global Games Schedule: