MATTHEW Dellavedova has revealed NBA officials have held discussions with Australian basketball players about taking a pre-season game down under in the near future.

Despite NBA commissioner Adam Silver last week claiming logistic issues will prevent a regular season game being held in Australia anytime soon, Milwaukee Bucks point guard Dellavedova says fans in his homeland could be treated to an exhibition match during the NBA off-season, which falls annually between late June and mid October.

“I know all the (Australian) boys have talked about it before, and we’ve talked with the NBA about hopefully getting a game. Even if it’s an exhibition game in the summer to start with,” Dellavedova told the Daily Telegraph.

media_camera Dellavedova is as excited as everyone else. Stacy Revere/Getty Images/AFP

Dellavedova joins a chorus of Australian NBA stars, including rookie Ben Simmons and Thon Maker as well as Philadelphia coach Brett Brown, in calling for a historic NBA regular sea on fixture in Australia.

Despite basketball having a limited presence in the UK, a sold-out crowd in London’s O2 arena witnessed Simmons’ Sixers take on countryman Aron Baynes’ Boston Celtics earlier in January.

Dellavedova, who won the 2016 NBA title alongside LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers, says Australia is just as deserving of an NBA showpiece.

“You saw (Boston and Philadelphia) play an NBA game in London the other day,” said Dellavedova.

“Well, Australia isn’t much further away so (players) can just sleep on the plane, so hopefully it will be something that happens in the not-too-distant future.”

media_camera Ben Simmons also wants to come home (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)

Australia has had a good track record of hosting major US sports.

Most recently, baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks played the opening two matches of the MLB season in front of sold-out crowds at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2014.

But the closest Australian fans have recently come to rubbing shoulders with basketball royalty was when homegrown stars Patty Mills and Baynes brought the NBA’s Larry O’Brien trophy down under in 2014 after the duo helped San Antonio to the league title that year.

Widely tipped to be Australia’s greatest export to the NBA after being chosen by the Sixers as the No. 1 draft in 2016, Simmons says playing in front of friends and family at home would be a dream come true.

“It’d be amazing to be a part of that, that’d be huge,” said Simmons. “Not only for me and my family, but Australian basketball.

“If it were to happen down there, I don’t care who the teams are; make it anybody. Just to be able to do that for Australian basketball would be something I’d never forget.”

Simmons’ coach Brown, who cut his teeth managing NBL teams including the Sydney Kings before taking the reigns of the Australian Boomers, claims the healthy basketball market in Australia deserves to be rewarded.

And he’s keen to take his burgeoning Philly side which includes newly minted All Star starter Joel Embiid.

“It’d be fantastic to deliver an NBA game to the shores of Australia,” said Brown.

“We’ve seen some fantastic national teams come through, but to deliver that (with somebody like Ben involved, I would be thrilled to participate in that event.

“My history with Australia is rich, it was a big stepping stone for me personally in my coaching career, it’s something you’d take pride in delivering to the fans in Australia.”

media_camera Thon Maker knows the NBA would love Australia. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Speaking in London two weeks ago, Silver said due to the fact the Sixers and Celtics had to “stop playing in the (US) five days before” the six-hour flight to London was the reason he couldn’t see NBA teams being able to manage the long haul to Australia during the season.

But Milwaukee centre Maker says the tourist appeal of Australia could be enough to lure NBA stars.

“NBA (players) would love Australia itself because it’s a great country and a beautiful place,” said Maker.

“Hopefully, we’re (Milwaukee) the first team there.

“It’d be great to see, if we can get something going in the (US) summer or even a regular NBA season. It’d be wonderful, man.”