Well, it's only preseason contests this time, but Japan will host NBA games for the first time in 16 years when the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors face each other, the league announced at a Tokyo news conference on Tuesday.
The teams will compete on Oct. 8 and 10 at Saitama Super Arena, which will be the venue for the sport at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The Seattle SuperSonics, the predecessor of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Clippers played in a two-game regular-season opening series and 2003 and the Rockets-Raptors preseason competitions will be the first NBA action that the Japanese audience will get to see in person since. The games will be cohosted by the league and Rakuten, Inc.