Competition to grow from four leagues to 16 over the next three years

The Jr. NBA Basketball England Leagues will expand from four to sixteen leagues over the next three years, the NBA and Basketball England have announced.

The announcement was made today by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver ahead of the NBA London Game 2018 between Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics at London’s The O2 on Thursday.

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.

In 2018, the programme will feature five leagues in four cities and regions: London, Birmingham, Manchester and East of England.

“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.”

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, click here.

• 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).