NBA franchise the New Orleans Pelicans are the latest American sports team to agree to play in Australia, after officials locked in a two-match exhibition series against NBL sides Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix in October.
Organisers are hoping to sell out the matches at 14,000-capacity Rod Laver Arena, held on the weekend following the AFL grand final, as well as draw a large crowd to two open training sessions to be held at Melbourne Park.
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The Pelicans have pledged to bring a full-strength side, including former No 1 draft pick Zion Williamson, to Australia for what will be a pre-season trip ahead of the 2025-26 season starting in late October.
NBL owner Larry Kestelman said he wanted it to be the first of many similar visits and it was going to be a “celebration” of Australian basketball. “I do believe this is the first, but not the last.”
Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said negotiations with Kestelman had gone back more than a decade, and – after he traded Boomers guard Dyson Daniels last year from New Orelaans to the Atlanta Hawks – he hoped to sign another Australian in time for the October visit.
“The way athletes in general are raised here, not just basketball players, I think there’s a commitment to excellence here that I would like us to become synonymous with,” he said.
Griffin explained the Daniels trade was “the right thing to do at the right time”. The Australian is now a contender for the defensive player of the year award and has recorded 178 steals this season, 66 more than second place. “At that moment, it had absolutely nothing to do with our belief in Dyson,” Griffin said.
Griffin also revealed the decision to draft Daniels in 2022 was prompted partly from the intelligence collected by a full-time Australian scout they had deployed at the time. The team has reorganised staff since then and no longer have anyone committed to Australia, but Griffin hoped this trip could serve as a catalyst for better connections and he harbours a “deep appetite” for more signings.
The former Cleveland executive has close connections to Australia, and he was reunited with Melbourne United guard Matthew Dellavedova at training on Monday as the NBL side prepares for the second match of the grand final against Illawarra. Dellavedova helped Griffin win the NBA title in 2016 in a team that featured LeBron James.
Despite his views on Australian players, the Pelicans boss said there is no guarantee the Pelicans will come back. “I hope it works out well enough that the organisation sees that [it it worth returning]”. The Victorian government is providing funding for the matches, but declined to reveal the size of the commitment.
Kestelman said although he wanted the visit to be an annual event, it would be a “challenge” to have two NBA teams playing each other due to the rigid NBA bargaining agreement. “Those things are usually locked away a few years ahead, but I would never count that out.”
NHL teams the Arizona Coyotoes and the LA Kings played two ice hockey exhibitions in Melbourne in 2023, and the NFL’s LA Rams will take a regular season match in late 2026 to the Victorian capital, which is expected to attract a crowd of close to 100,000 to the MCG.
Discussions with Australian broadcasters for coverage of the Pelicans’ series are under way, and the second match is scheduled on Sunday afternoon so as not to clash with the NRL grand final.
The Pelicans are out of NBA play-off contention this year, and sit 14th in the 15-team Western Conference standings.
