The NBA China Games will return to China in October with two games featuring the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors in Beijing and Guangzhou, it was announced today by the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport and the Guangzhou Sports Bureau. NBA China Games 2008 will feature the first sporting event at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena following the Olympics and the first ever NBA game played in Guangzhou.

NBA China Games 2008 will tip off in Guangzhou on Oct. 15 when the Bucks and Warriors meet at the Guangzhou Gymnasium with a capacity of 13,000. The two teams then travel to Beijing to play on Oct. 18 at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena, an NBA-style arena with a capacity of 17,173. Following the China Games, the multi-purpose arena is expected to host basketball games, other sporting events, concerts and festivals.

As part of the NBA’s on-going Sichuan Province earthquake relief efforts, NBA Cares, the league’s social responsibility program, will undertake a series of activities and events in conjunction with NBA China Games 2008. The events will support the rebuilding process in the province and recognize the rescue workers and first responders for their tireless and heroic efforts.

“Our partnerships with the Chinese Basketball Association, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport and the Guangzhou Sports Bureau provide us with the great opportunity to extend the NBA’s long-term relationship with Chinese basketball and bring the authentic NBA experience to fans in Guangzhou and Beijing,” said Tim Chen, CEO of NBA China. “The NBA China Games will also serve as a platform through which the NBA family can further assist in the relief and rebuilding efforts of the Sichuan province."

Both games will be televised live in China, the United States and to more than 200 countries and territories.

“The CBA is happy that basketball fans in China will have the opportunity to witness an NBA pre-season game at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena, a state of the art arena,” said Mr. Li Yuanwei, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the Chinese Basketball Association. “We hope fans will not only take pleasure in watching a great basketball game but will also enjoy the entertainment experience provided at the world class facilities.”

“The inaugural China Games in Beijing in 2004 was an all around success and this year’s matchup between the Bucks and the Warriors will give basketball fans in Beijing another opportunity to witness some of the best basketball in the world,” said Mr. Sun Kanglin, President of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport.

“For the first time two NBA teams will play a game in Guangzhou and we are honored and proud to add another world class sporting competition to our calendar," said Professor Liu Jiangnan, President of the. Guangzhou Sports Bureau."The game will give basketball fans in Guangzhou the unprecedented opportunity to witness world class basketball live and in person.”

NBA China Games 2008 will be the league’s third set of preseason games in China. In 2004, the NBA became the first American professional sports league to stage games in China, with two games between the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings in Shanghai and Beijing. Last October, NBA China Games 2007 featured three games between the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic and the Team China All-Stars in Shanghai and Macao. The NBA’s first trip to China dates back to 1979 when the Washington Wizards played against the Chinese National Team.