NBA Nation presented by T-Mobile USA & Kia Motors, the league’s largest mobile basketball playground, tips off at Denver’s Cinco de Mayo “Celebrate Culture” Festival on Saturday, May 3. This marks the first of eight stops in NBA team cities that will provide over 1 million fans with a chance to test their basketball skills, participate in free activities and meet NBA players.

NBA Nation will travel 7,000 miles, including stops in Denver, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York, Philadelphia and Dallas. The marquee interactive component is a customized 18-wheel show truck that expands into a 20,000-square-foot basketball playground for fans to participate in a variety of activities. The tour culminates in Dallas on July 13, where winners of the Kia Motors Performance Challenge, a skills course where fans can test their dribbling, passing and shooting abilities against the clock, from each tour stop will meet to compete for a chance to win an all-new 2009 Kia Borrego seven-passenger mid-size SUV.

Tour dates: May 3-4 -Denver, Cinco de Mayo "Celebrate Culture" Festival; May 9-11 -Atlanta, “Sweet Auburn Springfest”; May 17-18 -Los Angeles, Santa Monica Pier; May 24-25 -San Francisco, “Carnaval”; June 21-22 -Washington D.C., Safeway “Barbeque Battle XVI”; June 28-29 -New York City, South Street Seaport; July 3-4 -Philadelphia, Sunoco “Welcome America”; July 11-13 -Dallas, “Taste of Dallas.”

NBA Nation offers a variety of exciting interactive activities for fans of all ages including:

- T-Mobile Shadow Court – Fans can take part in competitions and clinics with players and legends to win prizes including authentic NBA jerseys and VIP access to the T-Mobile Shadow Lounge.

- Kia Motors Performance Challenge – Fans can test their dribbling, passing and shooting abilities against the clock on a skills course. Participants will compete for their city’s best time and a chance to earn a spot in the Performance Challenge Finals in Dallas on Sunday, July 13, for a shot at winning an all-new 2009 Kia Borrego seven-passenger mid-size SUV.

- T-Mobile Shadow Tents – Two tents within NBA Nation include the T-Mobile Shadow Fun Machine where fans can step inside an oversized T-Mobile Shadow and win prizes such as a T-Mobile Shadow, the official phone of NBA fun. The tents also include Miami Heat All-Star Dwayne Wade’s locker where fans can capture photos with a life-size replica and T-Mobile Shadow Wall of Fun which will display fun photos of fans at NBA Nation.

- Kia Motors Performance Photo Ops – Fans can have a photo taken of themselves with the NBA MVP trophy or in place of one of their favorite NBA Players in action.

- T-Mobile Shadow Lounge – Fans can win VIP access to the T-Mobile Shadow Lounge atop the show truck and watch the action or listen to NBA Nation’s own DJ Dallas Green spinning the hottest new music from the Lounge’s DJ booth. In addition, fans will have the chance to win a T-Mobile Shadow™ device at each NBA Nation stop.

- Measure Up – Fans can measure up against life-size replicas of their favorite players on the Tall and Short, Arm Span, Walk of Fame and Get-A-Grip displays.

- NBA’s 50 Greatest Plays – Fans can watch historic NBA plays on a 50-inch flat screen.

- Video Arcade – Fans can play the latest NBA video games in the show truck arcade.

- Product Samples -- Fans can also sample products such as Nestle Crunch and Ocean Spray® Craisins® Sweetened Dried Cranberries.

"More than one million fans in eight cities will have the chance to experience NBA excitement through a combination of interactive activities and appearances by their favorite players," said NBA Sr. Vice President, Events and Attractions, Gail Hunter.

The NBA's Global Grassroots programs reach more than 13 million fans annually and aim to promote participation in the game of basketball through clinics, contests, skills competitions and player appearances. Programs include: Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA (U.S. and international); NBA Nation; NBA Jam Van (U.S., China and Europe); NBA Madness (Asia, Europe and Latin America); and NBA All-Star Jam Session.