Nets, Kings to celebrate 10th anniv. of NBA China with Fan Appreciation Day in Shanghai

NBA China will hostNBA Fan Appreciation Day on Oct. 10, 2014at 7:00 PM at the Mercedes-Benz Arena to celebrate and thank fans for their support of NBA Global Games China. The free event will give more than 14,000 fans the opportunity to watch the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings participate in drills and interactive games.

Fans will also witness a historic moment when a line-up of NBA legends and players takes the last five shots of the "Shoot Two Million Hoops" campaign, which began on May 31 in hundreds of schools and communities across Shanghai. The campaign is a joint initiative between the NBA and the Shanghai Sports Bureau to promote an active and healthy lifestyle through participation in sports.

NBA Fan Appreciation Day partners adidas and ZTE Mobile will host activations to engage fans throughout the day. NBA Legends Darryl Dawkins, Peja Stojakovic, and Vlade Divac will be on hand to interact with fans,while the NBA Fan Patrol, the Nets and Kingsdance teams, and Kingsmascot Slamson will also provide entertainment.

Tickets to NBA Fan Appreciation Day will be free to the public and available through a series of interactive promotions from NBA digital and marketing partners. Fans can follow the NBA's official WeChat account to win tickets througha sweepstakes, and students at 11 Shanghai-based colleges will also have the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes to win tickets.In addition, the Shanghai Sports Bureau will select thousands of basketball fans to attend theevent.

The Kings and the Nets will play at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Oct. 12, 2014 at 12:30 PM and will meet again at the MasterCard Center in Beijing on Oct. 15, 2014 at 7:00 PM.

The two games between the Nets and Kings are part of NBA Global Games 2014-15, which includes five international preseason games, followed by two regular-season games in November and January. Overall, nine NBA teams will play seven games in seven cities in six countries as the league continues to expand globally.

Following these games, the NBA will have staged 154 Global Games in 20 countries since 1978, including 18 games in China since 2004. That year the NBA became the first American professional sports league to play games in China when the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings played in Shanghai and Beijing.