Amidst all the interest, intrigue, and media buzz this week surrounding BYU, Brandon Davies, the BYU Honor Code, etc. is an international phenomenon that has made its way all the way to Europe. And no, I'm not talking about the "epic" and "radical" Charlie Sheen freak show. I'm talking about the New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors. That's right, the 18-43 Nets and the 17-45 Raptors are two of the worst teams in the NBA, and in an effort to promote the game of basketball and the NBA, the Nets and the Raptors are playing the first regular season NBA games ever this weekend in London, England. Really? The NBA is trying to get England interested in the NBA with 2 Nets-Raptors games!? Thanks for Harry Potter and the Aston Martin, England, we hope you enjoy this exciting matchup between two non-playoff teams. Next summer, can you return the favor by sending us the West Bromwich Albion and the Wolverhampton Wanderers (both real English Premier League Soccer Teams) to give the US an exciting soccer game to watch? In fact, can they play each other twice? Pleeeease...
In all seriousness, it should come as no surprise that the Nets are one of the teams involved. The Nets were bought by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov last year. Prokhorov has been trying to raise the Nets' international profile (I didn't know they had one to begin with) ever since he bought the team last year. Prokhorov also helped close the deal for the Nets to move to Brooklyn in the Fall of 2012, including the construction of the new Barclays (a UK-based company) Center, which will be the home of the Nets for years to come. Prokhorov also led the aggressive charge to obtain Carmelo Anthony prior to the NBA trade deadline. Although he didn't end up with Anthony, the Nets were able to make a trade for Jazz All-Star point guard, Deron Williams, so they could have a superstar to build their team around for their upcoming relocation to Brooklyn and the World. The "Nyets" already have a Russian-language website and a deal with a TV network in the country to broadcast games. "We're making big efforts to make the Nets Russia's home team," Christophe Charlier recently said. Charlier is the chairman of the board of directors for the Nets and is also deputy CEO of the Mikhail Prokhorov-owned Onexim Group. On the heels of all these efforts, Nets CEO Brett Yormark summed it up for the two people already following the team: "It's a good time to be a (or the) Nets fan."
Deron Williams, in fact, admitted this week that he had no idea his new team was going to play in London to play against the Raptors. Oh well, I guess the NBA is going to have to improve its marketing of these events if these kind of games are going to take place in the future. In fact, the NBA has come out and aggressively said that the Nets-Raptors series this weekend is the first of many global initiatives to come. "Building the sport of basketball and the NBA internationally is a priority for the league as a whole, but we're thrilled that the Nets are so supportive of this." NBA Europe senior vice president Sophie Goldschmidt said about the NBA-England experiment. Apparently, the Raptors had to go because the flights must have been the cheapest from Canada.
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| The Queen's reaction when she found out the Nets-Raptors were going to bring the NBA to England. |
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| Deron Williams will be a cornerstone to the Nets' desire to have an international fan base. |
