NBA and Basketball England will expand from four to sixteen leagues over the next three years

 The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Basketball England announced today that the Jr. NBA Basketball England Leagues will expand from four to sixteen leagues over the next three years.  By 2021, the expanded programme is expected to reach more than 22,000 boys and girls ages 11-13 in seven cities and regions across England. 

The announcement was made today by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at a Jr. NBA Basketball England clinic in London a day before the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics play a regular-season game at The O2 as part of the NBA London Game 2018. 

“We’re very excited about the expansion of our partnership with the NBA and the scaling up of the Jr. NBA programme,” said Basketball England CEO Stewart Kellet.  “The NBA brand helps support our commitment to growing the game, keeping more young people engaged in basketball and using the sport to develop young people both on and off the court.  The Jr. NBA programme helps us work towards all those objectives, and with the support of the NBA and Sport England, we’re delighted that this project can continue to grow.”

“Expanding the Jr. NBA programme in England is part of our continued commitment to growing basketball among young boys and girls throughout Europe,” said NBA Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Europe and Middle East, Ben Morel.  “We look forward to working with Basketball England to engage more boys and girls across the country and teach these aspiring young players the values of the game, including teamwork, leadership and respect.”

In each league, 30 secondary schools, each representing one of the 30 NBA teams, will play in a series of regular-season games followed by single-elimination playoffs and a Jr. NBA League Finals.  Leveraging the excitement of the NBA, the leagues will again aim to promote the shared NBA and Basketball England values of teamwork, leadership, fitness and healthy living through league games, Jr. NBA youth clinics, and league Finals.  In 2018, the programme will feature five leagues in four cities and regions: London, Birmingham, Manchester and East of England.

The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball programme for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents.  During the 2017-18 season, the NBA will reach more than 26 million youth in 71 countries through a variety of camps, clinics, skills challenges, league play and outreach events. 

For more information on the Jr. NBA Basketball England League, please visit http://jrnbaleague.uk/.

Fans in the UK can find more NBA information at NBA.com/UK, the league’s official online destination in the UK, and on Facebook (NBA) and Twitter (@NBAUK).