This summer, NIKE, Inc. and USA Basketball are planning to bring the world’s best basketball teams and top musical performers to New York City for the inaugural World Basketball Festival, a four-day celebration of the performance and culture of the game, an event that Nike has committed to reprising every two years.

The World Basketball Festival, August 12-15, features basketball’s leading brands within the NIKE Inc. portfolio – Converse, the Jordan Brand, and Nike Basketball.
The World Basketball Festival is a uniquely dynamic event, from the moment it tips off with a showcase featuring members of the 2010 USA Basketball National Team on an open-air court in Times Square, to an unprecedented Times Square performance by a surprise musical act, to the final games of the weekend between four of the best teams in the world at Madison Square Garden.

From Times Square on August 12, the action moves uptown to New York City’s legendary basketball courts at Rucker Park in Harlem, Friday and Saturday, August 13 and 14.

The World Basketball Festival concludes Sunday, August 15 with an exciting exhibition double-header featuring the United States taking on France (1 p.m. EDT) and China meeting Puerto Rico (3:30 p.m. EDT) at famed Madison Square Garden.
The exhibition games are being utilized as part of the teams’ preparation for the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship in Turkey, August 28 to September 12.