SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento Kings announced today they will play two games in China during the 2014-15 preseason.
The Kings will play the Brooklyn Nets on October 12 in Shanghai (Mercedes-Benz Center) and October 15 in Beijing (MasterCard Center). The games are part of NBA Global Games, the league’s comprehensive international schedule that will include a total of five preseason games in four countries this October.
The upcoming games highlight the Kings continued commitment to the NBA 3.0 philosophy: cutting-edge technology to enhance the fan experience, acting as a positive agent of change in the community and expanding the team’s global brand. The games also mark the 10th anniversary of the inaugural NBA China Games in which the Kings took on Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets in two exhibition games.
“We’re thrilled to bring the Kings experience back to our fans in China,” said Kings Majority Owner Vivek Ranadivé. “Over 300 million Chinese men and women play basketball so there’s huge potential to connect with new and existing fans. We’ll be volunteering in the community, as well as utilizing technology and social media to share our trip with Kings fans around the world. We look forward to playing the Brooklyn Nets, who share our philosophy that basketball is the preeminent global sport of the 21st century.”
During the 2013-14 season, 21 Kings games were broadcast live on Chinese media outlets including CCTV 5, BesTV, Chongqing Satellite TV, Sina.com, QQ.com and LeTV. The Kings celebrated the Chinese New Year during the February 3 game against the Chicago Bulls, which was broadcast on CCTV 5. On February 25, the Kings launched an official account on Weibo, China’s premier microblogging site, which attracts over 500 million total users. The NBA also operates the Kings official team website in Chinese, http://china.nba.com/kings.