TORONTO – The National Basketball Association (NBA) will host the fifth annual NBA Canada Series presented by Bell, featuring two preseason games in Vancouver and Calgary.

Two-time reigning Kia NBA MVP Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, who made NBA history with 73 wins during the 2015-16 regular season, will take on 2016 NBA All-Stars DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Saturday, Oct. 1.  The game will mark seven-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant’s Warriors debut.

The Raptors will then face Ontario native Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Monday, Oct. 3.  Murray, the No. 7 selection in the 2016 NBA Draft, will be making his NBA preseason debut.

The games, which will air nationally on TSN, will mark the Raptors’ fourth appearance in the NBA Canada Series and the first for both the Warriors and Nuggets.  NBA Canada Series 2016 tickets will go on sale Sept. 2.  Visit ticketmaster.ca for more information.

For the first time, NBA Canada Series will feature an expanded schedule of interactive fan events, NBA legend appearances, and NBA Cares community outreach programs in Vancouver and Calgary.  In addition to presenting partner Bell, supporting partners of NBA Canada Series 2016 include 2K Sports, adidas, BMO Bank of Montreal, Foot Locker, and Miller Genuine Draft.

NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured a record-tying 12 Canadians, more than any country outside the United States for the second consecutive year.  NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto, the first NBA All-Star held outside the United States, was the most viewed NBA All-Star Game in Canada since 1996.  The 2015-16 season was also the most successful season in Raptors history, with the team posting a franchise record for victories (56) for the third consecutive year and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in team history.

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Executive/Player Quotes:

NBA Canada Vice President and Managing Director Dan MacKenzie:

“The NBA has never been more popular in Canada.  Between the Raptors’ Eastern Conference Finals run, the excitement around the Warriors’ record-setting season and the Nuggets’ talented young core, our passionate Canadian fans are in for a real treat when these teams come to Vancouver and Calgary in October.”

Raptors guard and Canadian Cory Joseph:

“As Canada’s basketball team, the Raptors are excited to bring the NBA to cities across our country.  We look forward to returning to Vancouver, where we had a sellout last year, and making new fans during our visit to Calgary.”

Warriors guard Stephen Curry:

“As someone who spent some time as a kid growing up in Canada, I’m really looking forward to our preseason game in Vancouver as part of the NBA Canada Series.  The fans throughout Canada have always had a tremendous passion for basketball and the NBA, and to have the opportunity to visit such a beautiful city and play in that exciting environment is going to be a lot of fun.”

Nuggets guard and Canadian Jamal Murray:

“It’s been a long, unpredictable journey and now I’m happy to be with a team that has a perfect situation for me.  It’s going to be fun matching up with Toronto in Calgary for the first game of the preseason.”

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League.  The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA.com and the NBA app, which achieved record traffic during the 2014-15 season, as well as NBA TV.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than one billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.