Great Britain will get all the help it needs from the NBA to compete at the 2012 Olympics, league commissioner David Stern has pledged as he promised to bring regular season games to the UK.
Stern was in London to watch the New Jersey Nets beat the Miami Heat 94-92 in a sold-out exhibition game at the O2 Arena, and used the trip to promise the NBA will look to strengthen their ties with Great Britain and help it put a competitive team on the court in four years' time.
Last month, Great Britain qualified for the European Championships, a key step along the way to earning the right to compete in 2012.
"We were very encouraged by the fact that Team GB qualified for EuroBasket, which I think is a terrific opportunity," Stern said.
"We look forward to seeing the sport grow in the run-up to 2012, and we've offered our help in any respect possible."
That could see British players head to the United States to play games during the NBA's summer league as China did in the run-up to this year's Games in Beijing.
Teams from the NBA's Development League could also come the other way to provide opposition for Great Britain in friendly games.
"It's the same type of thing we have extended to other countries because we love to grow the sport of basketball," Stern said.
"We have a great opportunity here."
Sunday night's game marked the second straight year that the NBA's Europe Live Tour has taken a stop in the British capital.
As recently as Friday (UK time), Stern said there were no plans to take the relationship to the next level and play regular season games, but he changed his tune on Sunday.
"If I can be a bit mischievous, I can say that it has been suggested to us that we should schedule in the next three years or so regular-season games here, more than just one, on a regular basis in the light of the success we've enjoyed here," he said.
"I think we'll see a minimum of one, maybe more, before 2012."