Stern has said that he wants to play a meaningful game at London's O2 Arena, where the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz played a pre-season game tonight.

Stern said: "We hope to do it.

"[But] we're running out of runway."

The NBA was playing in London for the third straight year, and the game at the O2 was again sold out.

Although this year's trip to Europe was cut down from previous visits, the Jazz still have one more game to play on Thursday against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.

Outside Europe, however, the NBA is playing pre-season games in other countries, including Taiwan and Mexico.

The 2012 Olympics has long been seen as a way to spread the word of basketball in Britain and beyond, but Stern also said that he would likely follow up the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa with expansion on that continent.

He said: "Kids around the world are watching our game.

"They watch the great players and they say, 'I want to be like them.'"


Related stories
May 2008: NBA see 2012 as key to basketball's expansion in Britain
May 2008: NBA wants to help British basketball in 2012 build-up, says Stern
March 2008: London Olympic venue to stage major basketball
February 2008: Basketball chief pinning hopes on Luol
May 2007: NBA to open office in London