. The Pelicans will play Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix in Melbourne Park on Friday Oct. 3 and Sunday Oct. 5, 2025, with the NBL serving as the official promoter and organizer of the Melbourne Series.
In addition to the games, the NBA, the NBL and the Pelicans will conduct NBA Cares community outreach initiatives and lifestyle events leading up to and during the week of the games, including a Fan Night on Saturday Oct. 4. The NBA and the NBL also plan to expand their grassroots basketball development efforts in Asia-Pacific at the youth and elite levels in the coming years.
The announcement was made today in Melbourne by New Orleans Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin, NBL Executive Director & Owner Larry Kestelman, and NBA Asia Head of Strategy Rajah Chaudhry.
The Pelicans currently feature two-time NBA All-Star Zion Williamson, 2022 NBA All-Star Dejounte Murray and 2015-16 Kia NBA Most Improved Player CJ McCollum. Tickets for the games and surrounding events will go on sale at a later date. Fans can register their interest and gain access to presale information and more here.
The announcement builds on the NBA and NBL’s prior collaborations that began in 2016. Seven NBL teams have traveled to the U.S. to play 24 preseason games against NBA teams. The NBA twice collaborated with the NBL to host Basketball Without Borders, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program, in Australia (2016 in Melbourne and 2024 in Perth). To date, nine players from the NBL’s Next Stars program have been drafted directly from the NBL into the NBA, including Ousmane Dieng (Oklahoma City Thunder), Josh Giddey (Chicago Bulls), LaMelo …
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