On October 8, 2006 in Paris vs San Antonio Spurs

Back-to-back Euroleague Basketball Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv will head to Paris for a game against the San Antonio Spurs at the Palais Omnisport Paris Bercy on October 8 as part of NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™, the NBA, Euroleague Basketball and Maccabi Tel Aviv announced today. “We are pleased to have the San Antonio Spurs represent the NBA in Paris as part of the most ambitious international competition in league history,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “In partnership with Euroleague Basketball and EA Sports, we will bring the highest level of competition to fans in France when the 2005 NBA Champion Spurs face two-time defending Euroleague Champion Maccabi Tel Aviv.” “It is a great honor for us that Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv has been chosen to play vs the reigning NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs on October 8th 2006 in Paris”, said Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv Shimon Mizrahi. “There is no doubt that this will be an intriguing meeting between the Back-to-Back European Champions and the NBA Champions.” “This game is another in line of a long tradition, started in 1978, in which Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv has played several games vs NBA teams on USA soil as well as in Israel. The teams we have played against are: Washington Bullets, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76, Miami Heat. Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic” “This is also the time to send warm congratulations to the NBA and its Commissioner David Stern and the Euroleague and its CEO Jordi Bertomeu that initiated and made true those meetings between NBA and Euroleague teams, proving once more the close relations between European Basketball and this of the NBA”. Before heading to Paris, the Spurs also will conduct training camp during the first week of October in Lyon at the Astroballe and play a game against the French team Adecco ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne on Oct. 5. This will mark the third trip to Europe for the San Antonio Spurs since 1999. The team visited Paris, France in 2003 for the NBA Europe Games and Milan, Italy for the 1999 McDonald’s Championship. The Spurs feature the most international players on one team with seven, including France’s Tony Parker. NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™ is part of a two-year partnership agreement between the NBA, Electronic Arts and Euroleague Basketball. In October 2006, the tour also will feature three other NBA teams. Each of the four NBA teams will be based in a different European city during the first week of October. The Philadelphia 76ers will hold training camp in Barcelona, Spain and take part in an exhibition game against FC Barcelona on Oct. 7 at the Palau Sant Jordi. The Phoenix Suns will conduct training camp in Treviso, Italy at La Ghirada, a state-of the-art training center one hour north of Venice, and will play a game against Lottomatica Roma in Rome at PalaLottomatica on Oct. 6. The Los Angeles Clippers will travel to Moscow for training camp at the Universal Sport Hall CSKA and play games against CSKA Moscow and Unics Kazan Oct. 5-8. NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™ will conclude with a tournament at the Kölnarena in Cologne, Germany. The tournament will feature games between the 76ers and the Suns and between the 2005-06 Euroleague Basketball Champion and Euroleague Basketball runner-up on Oct. 10. The finale will feature matchups on Oct. 11 between the winners and the runners-up of each game. Ticket sales for each game of the tour will be announced at a later date. “This event will showcase many of the best teams from both Europe and the NBA,” said Euroleague Basketball CEO Jordi Bertomeu. “It will help contribute to the development of the sport across the continent and give European fans a courtside seat to all the action and excitement. The tournaments between the NBA and the Euroleague teams are a big step forward and one that demonstrates our determination to continue to grow during this decisive phase of our development.. The work done on the part of the NBA and EA Sports will greatly contribute to the development of basketball in Europe. Lastly, I would like to thank our clubs for all their hard work and the devotion they have exhibited by participating in this project.” An NBA licensee since 1991, EA expanded its relationship with the league to become an official global marketing partner of the NBA to develop interactive basketball programs around the world, including NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS. “By teaming with the NBA to grow the sport of basketball in Europe, this event will bring some of the world`s most exciting teams and players to the continent,” said Jan Bolz, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at EA.