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The NBA will be returning to London, England for seventh time next year as the league announced that the Indiana Pacers will be taking on the Denver Nuggets in a regular-season contest at the O2 Arena on January 12th. This will be the first official trip to the UK for both clubs. It will give British fans the opportunity to check out some of the teams’ star players such as three-time all-star Paul George along with Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson, Jeff Teague, Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young of Indiana and Denver’s Danilo Gallinari, Emmanuel Mudiay and Kenneth Faried.

The Pacers finished in seventh place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference last season with a record of 45-37. The squad made the playoffs, but fell in seven games to the Toronto Raptors during the first round of the postseason. Nate McMillan is the new head coach of Indiana and Young, Jefferson and Teague are also new acquisitions. The Nuggets didn’t fare as well in 2015/16 as they missed the playoffs for the third consecutive campaign. The team finished in 11th position in the Western Conference after compiling a record of 33-49. However, Michael Malone will still be the club’s head coach heading into the 2016/17 season.

As well as hosting the game between Indiana and Denver, the NBA will also present something called NBA Global Games London 2017. This will give fans the opportunity to enjoy some interactive activities before the contest. The league will also present some basketball programs for youngsters and various other activities to give the fans the true experience of an NBA game. Adam Silver, the league’s commissioner, said almost 25 percent of current NBA players were born outside of the USA and it’s important that the league continues to grow globally. Silver added that the league is thrilled to be going back to London since the NBA is becoming very popular in the UK.

The O2 Arena in London hosted a regular-season game between the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic last year with Toronto winning 106-103. The NBA held its first game in the British capital back in March of 2011 when the New Jersey nets downed the Raptors by a score of 116-103. Danilo Gallinari of the Nuggets is one of many players who’s happy to be heading to London and stated, “It will be a true honour and a great experience to represent both the Nuggets and the NBA in London as part of the NBA Global Games in 2017. Our entire team and organization are looking forward to this opportunity to showcase our league to fans overseas.”