International teams to join NBA Summer League in Las Vegas

NBA Summer League is going international this year.

The Chinese and Croatian national teams will join all 30 NBA clubs at this year’s tournament in Las Vegas, taking place from July 5 through July 15. China sent a team to Summer League in 2007, and Croatia will play in the event for the first time.

It’s still unknown who will be on China’s roster, though it’s likely that the event will be part of the team’s preparations for the FIBA World Cup — which will be held in China from Aug. 31 through Sept. 15.

Croatia is not one of the 32 teams that will play in the World Cup.

This will be the second straight year where all 30 NBA teams will be represented in Las Vegas. The format has been tweaked slightly this year; all teams will play four games in the preliminary rounds, and then the top eight clubs will advance to a tournament to decide the champion.

Every team is guaranteed five games, with one consolation game for the 24 teams that aren’t in the championship tournament. The max number of games is seven, to be played by the two teams that reach the title matchup.

Last year’s summer league set a record for total attendance, with 139,972 fans going to the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion for the games.