Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (middle) was blocked by a Denver Nuggets defender. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets are scheduled to meet in an official NBA regular season game in 2017 at the O2 Arena in London. The January 12 match will be the seventh regular season encounter that the league will hold in the United Kingdom.
BBC Sport noted that it would be the "first time either side has played overseas during the regular season" as British fans will get to see the stars from both squads in the flesh, such as Paul George, Monta Ellis, Jeff Teague, Al Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, and sophomore Myles Turner from the Pacers while Denver will feature Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, and another second-year player, Emmanuel Mudiay.
Indiana is coming off a decent 45-37 season, finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference. The team advanced in the playoffs, but lost to the Toronto Raptors in seven games during the first round. Teague, Jefferson, and Young are all new acquisitions for new head coach Nate McMillan as well.
Meanwhile, Denver had a disappointing campaign last season, finishing 11th in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record and was eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight year. Head coach Michael Malone will still lead the Nuggets this coming 2016-2017.
Meanwhile, aside from the Pacers-Nuggets' official game, the "NBA Global Games London 2017 will feature a variety of interactive fan activities, NBA Cares community outreach initiatives and Jr. NBA basketball programs that will bring the NBA experience to fans in London", as per the league's official website.
"We are thrilled to return for our seventh regular-season game in London," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "With almost 25 percent of players in the NBA born outside of the United States, we are seeing firsthand the global growth of our game, which has never been more popular in the UK."
Last January, the NBA also featured a regular season match at the O2 with the Raptors defeating the Orlando Magic, 106-103. The first ever NBA regular season done in the UK was back in March 2011, when the then New Jersey Nets pulled off a 116-103 drubbing of Toronto.
"It will be a true honor and a great experience to represent both the Nuggets and the NBA in London as part of the NBA Global Games in 2017. Our entire team and organization are looking forward to this opportunity to showcase our league to fans overseas," Gallinari said.
Three-time All-Star Paul George said he is "really excited and thankful the NBA is allowing us to reach out to our fans in London. This is great exposure for our team and our franchise. I think it will be a great experience for us and the fans in attendance."
