Milan to host Boston Celtics as part of NBA Global Games Europe 2015

The National Basketball Association (NBA), Euroleague Basketball and RCS Sport announced today that the Boston Celtics will play a preseason game on Oct. 6 against Olimpia Milano in Milan, Italy, as part of NBA Global Games Europe 2015.

The 17-time NBA Champion Celtics will play the three-time Euroleague Champion and 26-time Italian League Champion Olimpia Milano at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan. This will be the Celtics’ seventh game in Europe and second contest in Milan, having previously played in 2012. The Celtics are led by Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Evan Turner, while Olimpia Milano features Alessandro Gentile, MarShon Brooks and Samardo Samuels.

Tickets can be purchased beginning June 8 at ticketone.it. For more information, please visit www.NBA.com or the NBA’s Facebook page at NBA Italia.

Olimpia Milano will also play two pre-season games in Chicago and New York as part of the Euroleague Basketball World Tour 2015, which will feature additional games around the world to be announced in the near future.

NBA Global Games Europe 2015 will also feature a range of interactive fan activities and NBA Cares community events that will bring the NBA experience to Milan. The game will be supported by a variety of partners and be available to fans globally on television, digital, and social media.

Executive Quotes:

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver:

“We are thrilled to bring one of the most storied franchises in NBA history to Milan to compete against a top Euroleague team.”

Euroleague Basketball President & CEO Jordi Bertomeu

“Olimpia Milano is one of the biggest basketball powerhouses in European basketball. To have them hosting one of the most historical NBA franchises, the Boston Celtics, will offer fans a top quality event with the best from both competitions, the Turkish Airlines Euroleague and the NBA.”

NBA EMEA Senior Vice President & Managing Director Benjamin Morel:

“We are thrilled that NBA Global Games 2015 will be one of many exciting and important events taking place in Milan this year. Thanks to our longstanding collaboration with Euroleague Basketball and with the support of our family of partners, we look forward to making a difference on and off the court.”

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge:

“On behalf of the Celtics organization, we are proud to return to Milan for NBA Global Games 2015. I have particularly fond memories of playing in Europe almost 30 years ago, and I am sure our current players will relish this unique opportunity.”

Boston Celtics Guard Avery Bradley:

“It is an honor to represent the Celtics and the NBA in Milan. I know there are passionate NBA fans in Italy and we look forward to an electric atmosphere on game night.”

Olimpia Milano President Flavio Portaluppi:

"We'll play in Chicago and New York against Maccabi and then head home to Italy to play the Boston Celtics which will be an exciting week for us as a team. We appreciate the opportunity to play such a spectacular opponent in front of our loyal fans."

Olimpia Milano Captain Alessandro Gentile:

"It's an honor to play against an NBA team, especially one so rich in tradition like the Boston Celtics, in front of our home crowd. As a player and as a team it is a great opportunity to measure ourselves against a terrific team. We are looking forward to the game and will try our best to be competitive and give our fans a reason to be proud of us."

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with offices in 13 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2014-15 season featured a record 101 international players from 37 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, which is available in 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which recorded 26.9 billion page views during the 2013-14 season, with more than half of all visitors originating from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with more than 820 million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $242 million to charity, completed more than 3 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 915 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

About Euroleague Basketball

A global leader in sports management, Euroleague Basketball develops and organizes elite competitions, sporting events, corporate social responsibility programs and educational initiatives. Founded in 2000 under a breakthrough private organizational model for European professional team sports, Euroleague Basketball manages the continent's two premier men's basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines Euroleague and the Eurocup, as well the sport's premier under-18 showcase, the adidas NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT. Both the men's and junior European champions are crowned each spring at world basketball’s signature weekend event, the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. For aspirants to careers in sports management, the Euroleague Basketball Institute offers the expertise of industry leaders through seminars, clinics, summits and a certified master's degree program. Most recently, Euroleague Basketball launched the groundbreaking corporate social responsibility program One Team, which unites 32 of its own clubs and world-renowned partners to support at-risk communities in 14 countries through grass-roots activities that have reached more than 10,000 participants to date. Find more details about Euroleague Basketball at http://www.euroleague.net/. Follow Euroleague athttps://www.facebook.com/TheEuroleague and on Twitter @Euroleague

About RCS Sport

RCS Sport is a sports and media company that offers its partners a complete customizable range of services and a portfolio of sports rights. Sport is an opportunity for everybody, a challenge for professionals, and a great adventure with RCS Sport.