BNZ Breakers to Face NBA Giants in October

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball League (NBL) today announced that the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder will host the BNZ Breakers for preseason games in October, marking the sixth time in eight years that an NBL team will travel to the U.S. to participate in the NBA preseason.
 
The Breakers, who will be playing their sixth and seventh preseason NBA games, will face the Jazz on Saturday October 5 (NZTime) at the Delta Center, followed by a matchup against the Thunder on Friday, Oct (NZTime) at BOK Center in Tulsa. 

The games will mark the Jazz’s sixth preseason meeting against an NBL team and the Thunder’s fourth.
 
“The NBL-NBA games have become a highlight and visual representation of the strong connection we have with the NBA,” said NBL Chief Operating Officer and Head of Basketball Operations, Vince Crivelli. 

“These games also continue to position our teams and athletes alongside the very best our sport has to offer globally.  Our relationship with the NBA continues to grow and evolve, and we look forward to working on more exciting initiatives in the future.  The Breakers are a wonderful organization with a proud history of success and have really embraced these games, and we wish them all the best against the Jazz and Thunder.”
 
“It has been tradition for the BNZ Breakers to fly stateside and compete against the very best in the NBA and we are proud to continue our association with the best basketball league in the world,” Breakers Owner Matt Walsh said. 

“It started in 2019 against the Phoenix Suns and we’ve since had games against the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers.  We look forward to flying to the USA in October and resuming our rivalry with the Jazz and Thunder.”
           
“Hosting NBL teams for preseason games in the U.S. is part of our commitment to engaging the passionate basketball fans in Australia and New Zealand and working with other top leagues around the world,” said NBA Asia Head of Strategy Rajah Chaudhry.  

“These matchups have become a fixture of the NBA calendar and a tremendous opportunity to spotlight NBL talent to a global audience, and we look forward to two competitive games when the New Zealand Breakers visit the Jazz and Thunder in October.”
 
The Thunder currently features two-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA First Team member Shai Gilgeous Alexander, 2024 All-Rookie First Team member Chet Holmgren, and former Breaker' NBL Next Star Ousmane Dieng. 

The Jazz currently features 2023 NBA All-Star Lauri Markkanen, 2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson, and 2023 NBA All-Rookie First Team member Walker Kessler. 

To date, nine NBL Next Stars have been drafted directly from the NBL to the NBA, including Dieng, Josh Giddey (Chicago Bulls), LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets), and 2024 No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards).  

A record four Next Stars were selected in the 2024 NBA Draft, including Sarr, AJ Johnson (Milwaukee Bucks), Bobi Klintman (Detroit Pistons) and Ariel Hukporti (New York Knicks). 
 
About the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2023-24 season featured a record 125 international players from 40 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 2.3 billion likes and followers globally across all leagues, team and player platforms.  NBA Cares, the NBA’s global social responsibility platform, partners with renowned community-based organizations around the world to address important social issues in the areas of education, inclusion, youth and family development, and health and wellness.
 
About the NBL
The NBL was founded in 1979 and is the world’s best basketball league outside of the NBA.  Currently composed of 10 teams (nine in Australia and one in New Zealand), game attendances, TV viewership, digital traffic and fan engagement have skyrocketed following new ownership in 2015. NBL teams are located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Tasmania, Melbourne, New Zealand, Perth, Sydney, and Illawarra.