NBA TV TO TELEVISE WNBA SELECT TEAM AT FIBA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2003

Competition to Feature WNBA Select Team Led by Nikki Teasley of the Los Angeles Sparks and 2003 WNBA Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford of the Detroit Shock

SECAUCUS, NJ – October 13, 2003 – NBA TV, the league’s 24-hour television network, will televise exclusively the WNBA Select Team as they vie for the championship of the FIBA Women’s World Cup 2003 in Samara, Russia featuring teams from Korea, Brazil and Russia. NBA TV's portion of live coverage of the preliminary round will begin Tuesday, October 14th.

Spero Dedes and Doris Burke will provide play-by-play with former WNBA star Rebecca Lobo providing analysis. The NBA TV schedule for the preliminary round is as follows:

Tuesday October 14th, 4:00 PM/ET
WNBA Select Team vs. Korea

Wednesday October 15th, 4:00 PM/ET
WNBA Select Team vs. Sao Paula FC (Brazilian and South American Champion)

Thursday October 16th, 4:00 PM/ET
WNBA Select Team vs. UMMC Ekaterinbourg (European Champion and Russian Champion)

*Additional coverage to be announced.

This is the first time FIBA has organized a Women’s World Cup, designed to bring together the world’s top women’s club teams, including eight of the best clubs from five different continents to compete for the 2003 World Championship – United States, Russia (two teams), Brazil, Korea, Australia, France and Africa. The eight clubs will be divided into two groups of four clubs each, which will play round-robin. The two best-placed of each group will play in the Semifinals and Finals. The tournament will conclude with the crowning of a FIBA Women’s World Cup Champion Team Sunday, October 19th.

FIBA Women’s World Cup 2003 features top players from the WNBA, including 2003 WNBA Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford of the Detroit Shock, Chamique Holdsclaw of the Washington Mystics, Ruth Riley of the Detroit Shock, Sheryl Swoopes of the Houston Comets and Nikki Teasley of the Los Angeles Sparks.

NBA TV, launched in 1999, is the ultimate source for everything basketball 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year. NBA TV is the first network launched by a professional sports league and provides viewers behind-the-scenes access, basketball authenticity and insider’s perspective featuring original programming, four nights a week of live NBA games including high definition telecasts, Playoff games, WNBA games, exclusive coverage of special events and the most comprehensive highlights and up-to-the-minute information.