Fans in more than 205 countries will be able to tune in to watch each game of the NBA Finals, with the basketball action being translated in 36 different languages, including Creole, Hindi, Tagalog, Arabic and Maltese. Each game will reach more than 2.5 billion people around the world through NBA Entertainment's television, Internet, film and digital technology.
More than 150 international media members will travel from overseas to capture the action live in both L.A. and New Jersey. Thirty (30) international telecasters will be on-site, with several providing live on-site commentary, including: CCTV (China); NHK (Japan); Canal + (Spain), (France), (Netherlands); and TV Azteca (Mexico).
"This year's Playoffs have captured the attention of fans around the world with some of the largest audiences to date," said Heidi Ueberroth, Executive Vice President of the NBA. "We're pleased to provide more great action to fans around the globe when the NBA Finals tip off with Game One on Wednesday."
With a record 52 international players from 30 countries and territories on NBA rosters this season, the NBA is one of the most international U.S. based sports. In the NBA Playoffs alone, teams featured a record 26 international players, including the Lakers' Rick Fox (Canada) and Stanislav Medvedenko (Ukraine) and the Nets' Todd MacCulloch (Canada).
Five international players competed in this year's NBA All-Star Game, while another five played in the got milk? Rookie Challenge. Of the 10 players named to the 2001-02 NBA All-Rookie Team, five were from overseas, including this year's got milk? Rookie of the Year Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies and native of Spain). This growing international player list has proven to translate into enormous interest for the NBA overseas, as fans around the world and business partners alike, look forward to the upcoming competition.
"I am really excited about returning to the U.S. for the NBA Finals," said Andy Jao, commentator for Solar Philippines. "For a sportscaster like me, there is no feeling more exhilarating than being able to cover the NBA championships. It is a time for the renewal of friendships among international sportscasters, and feeling the warmth of the NBA organization. And the games, they are just unbelievable. They are the pinnacle of competition."
NBA Entertainment will host the presenters of five international co-productions taking place on-site during the Finals, including: Eddy Time (France), NBA Mania (Japan), NBA Fan Factory (Japan), NBA Total (Spain) and NBA Capsulas (Mexico).
In addition, San Antonio Spurs rookie sensation Tony Parker (native of France) will be the guest commentator for Canal+ France for Games 4 and 5 of the Finals. Parker, who helped lead the Spurs to the Western Conference semifinals, will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the NBA Finals for Canal + France's on-site broadcasting
NBA.com, which sees nearly 40% of its users from outside of the United States, will provide global coverage of the NBA Finals to fans around the world with live audio broadcasts of the games in 11 languages, including: Spanish, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, Dutch, French, Hebrew and English.
In North America, the NBA Finals 2002 will be broadcast on NBC, CTV (Canada), and the NBA on ESPN Radio.
