American sporting icons will return to London in January as the NBA comes to London for its annual game at Greenwich’s O2.

Orlando Magic will take on Toronto Raptors in a regular season fixture, with both sides currently sitting in the top half of the Eastern Conference.

We caught up with Magic star Victor Oladipo who told us he can’t wait to come to London and continue a strong season for the Florida side.


NBA Global Games at the O2

  • New Jersey Nets 116 – Toronto Raptors 103 on March 4, 2011. The first ever regular season game in London.
  • Jersey Nets 137 – Toronto Raptors 136 (after three quarters of over time) on March 5, 2011
  • New Knicks 102 – Detroit Pistons 87 on January 17, 2013
  • Brooklyn Nets 127 – Atlanta Hawks 110 on January 16, 2014.
  • Milwaukee Bucks 95 – New York Knicks 79 on January 15, 2015

Read about last year's game here: Celebrities turn out to see the NBA in Greenwich


The 23-year-old guard, who finished second in the slam dunk contest at this year’s All-Star game, said: “It is a lot of fun to play in this team right now. When we are moving the ball like this, you can create for others and we are getting some great, open looks. It will be exciting to take this team to London.”

Last year, the world’s biggest basketball league’s foray onto these shores saw the New York Knicks beaten by the Milwaukee Bucks and the players told us they loved the chance to sightsee in the capital.

It seems 6ft4ins, 23-year-old Oladipo is looking forward to more than just the game time too.

He said: “It will certainly be exciting to be in London and a great experience for us. It will be something new for me as I have never been before.

“It was like going to Brazil – we bonded a lot as a team going there (in pre-season) and I am looking forward to that aspect again in London.

“It is somewhere I have always wanted to go and I found out recently I have family there, on my dad’s side. It is hard to stay in touch with all your relatives but it’s cool to have family in different places, so hopefully we might be able to catch up.

“My mum will also be coming with me, so it will be good to spend some time with her there, too. It’s not the kind of thing you can usually do during the season.

“But most of all? I want to see where they shot all the Harry Potter movies. I am a big fan of those movies and it will be really cool to be able to see those locations in real life, as I know many of them exist.

“In all honesty, I am just looking forward to the whole experience, though.”

The Orlando Magic host the Toronto Raptors at The O2 in London on January 14 as part of NBA Global Games London 2016. The game is live on BT Sport and or via NBA LEAGUE PASS (www.nba.tv). For tickets, go to theo2.co.uk

 

Who is Victor Oladipo?

 

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Picture by NBAE/Getty Images

  • Team: Orlando Magic (since 2013)
  • Age: 23
  • Position: Guard
  • Height: 6 ft 4in
  • Weight: 95kg
  • College: Indiana University. Named Sporting News’ men’s college basketball player of the year and winner of the Adolph Rupp Trophy for the top player in the NCAA Basketball division one.
  • Salary: $5,192,520
  • NBA All-Rookie first team (2014)
  • Average of 15.8 points per game
  • 2nd in the slam dunk contest at the 2015 NBA All-Star game