THE NBA is set to finally come to Australia with NBL boss Larry Kestelman meeting NBA Commissioner Adam Silver next week in a bid to seal a deal to host a 2019 pre-season game.

In an exclusive interview with the Saturday Telegraph, Kestelman revealed he was working closely with the NBA to bring two teams to Australia in the lead-up to the 2019-2020 NBL season with Sydney and Melbourne the frontrunners to host the game.

He will attend the NBA All Stars Weekend in New Orleans next week to ramp up discussions with Silver and several NBA franchises, including the Golden State Warriors, about the prospect of a game in Australia in the first week of October.

media_camera NBL owner Larry Kestelman. Picture: Luke Marsden.

“We’ve had Adam come out and say there will be a game coming here and we are working very closely with the NBA to make sure that happens,” Kestelman said.

“We want to see which teams we want here and which team want to come here, so we are catching up with people like Golden State and a bunch of others to try and find an advocate for our plan.

“I’ve got 30 meetings over those four days at the All Stars and our goal is to try and bring two teams to play a pre-season game.

media_camera NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Picture: Getty Images

“That’s what we are aiming for and that’s what we are going to go over there and talk to the NBA about how we can make that happen.

“Their schedules are tight and part of their new agreement with the players, they play less pre-season games, so none of it is easy.

“But I would love to see Golden State and Utah, with some Australian involvement. That would be amazing for lifting the profile of the game in Australia.”

media_camera Boomers duo Aron Baynes and Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs with the Larry O'Brien Trophy after defeating the Miami Heat in Game Five of the 2014 NBA Finals. Picture: Getty Images

Kestelman said he wanted the NBA pre-season game to coincide with the introduction of two new franchises.

“It would be an amazing game with the Spurs led by Patty Mills versus Utah and Joe Ingles and Dante Exum to have Australians on both side of the court,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of which teams we can convince to come. But we will make the game into a big carnival of celebrating basketball.

“It’s not about bringing one game to Australia, it’s all about raising the profile of the sport.”

media_camera Utah Jazz's Dante Exum tries to get past Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry.

In Kestelman’s favour, there is already an established NBA market Down Under.

Outside of the United States, Australia has the highest NBA League Pass subscription per capita.

Sydney has the top viewership, while the sport’s popularity is backed up by impressive merchandise sales and gambling statistics.

There is also a record eight Australians in the NBA, including players who have been members of the past three NBA champions — Mills, Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova.

media_camera Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles guards Dallas Mavericks veteran Dirk Nowitzki.

Respected NBA agent Leon Rose, who manages stars like Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol and Chris Paul, recently visited Australia as a guest of Kestelman.

Rose was highly impressed with the NBL and Australia’s established basketball programs.

Kestelman now wants to capitalise on what he describes as the “perfect storm”, in terms of the NBA’s popularity, junior participation and the revamp of the NBL competition.

“The traction we are getting is incredible,” he said.

“People in the NBA are loving what we are doing here.

“Leon is the agent for basketball and one of the biggest in the world.

media_camera Boomers guard Patty Mills lines up against his Australian teammate Andrew Bogut.

“He was actually one of the first guys to put Australian Chris Anstey into the NBA.

“So the actual feeling around the NBA, as to what is happening here is extraordinary and even though there are a lot of good leagues they do feel like we are the closet version to them.

“We are English speaking, we play the game where even though it is a little different, it’s not so different where their players find it hard to come here.

“We are also a great breeding ground. We’ve got people like Terrance Ferguson and Jordan McRae, who is now in the NBA.

“There are only so many places in the NBA, so for them it’s a very logical way to either way to step into the NBA or a natural progression to become an NBA player.”