{"id":508463,"date":"2026-08-03T20:06:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/?p=508463"},"modified":"2026-08-03T20:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:06:31","slug":"london-lions-to-make-history-with-nba-preseason-game-against-portland-trail-blazers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/london-lions-to-make-history-with-nba-preseason-game-against-portland-trail-blazers\/","title":{"rendered":"London Lions to make history with NBA preseason game against Portland Trail Blazers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The London Lions will become the first British club ever to face an NBA team. The club announced that it will take on the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on October 12, 2026, as part of Portland\u2019s official NBA preseason schedule. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM local time and 9:00 PM BST.<\/p>\n<p>The game will also carry special meaning for head coach Tautvydas Sabonis, whose father, Arvydas Sabonis, spent seven seasons with the Trail Blazers and became one of the most beloved players in Portland\u2019s history. \u201cI\u2019m excited to be playing a preseason game against an NBA team, and all the more so against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, a city that holds a lot of meaning for me and my family,\u201d Sabonis said.<\/p>\n<p>General manager Martynas Purlys called the game \u201ca historic moment for our club and for basketball in the United Kingdom,\u201d describing it as recognition of the Lions\u2019 progress and ambition. London enter the matchup as reigning SLB champions after a clean sweep last season and are also set to return to the BKT EuroCup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The British club will face Portland at Moda Center on October 12, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":508460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[197,399,289],"tags":[],"rumors":[],"typology":[],"posizionamento":[],"class_list":["post-508463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eurocup","category-nba","category-united-kingdom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - 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