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Vickerman: 'Australia deserves more NBA games'

Dean Vickerman says Melbourne United’s performance against the New Orleans Pelicans proves Australia is ready for more NBA games.
The moment Melbourne United hit the court against the New Orleans Pelicans will be etched in Australian basketball folklore and the enormity of it hasn't been lost on Dean Vickerman.
During the post-game press conference, following United's historic 10-point loss to NBA superstar Zion Williamson and his Pelicans, Vickerman explained how special the moment at Rod Laver Arena was and how proud he was of his team.
"It was a really good night for Australian basketball," Vickerman said in the post-game press conference.
“I’m glad we were able to really compete at a good level.
"Hopefully we’ve done enough to say to the NBA; 'hey, it’s worthy of bringing more teams back to Australia for these games'.
"I think that was a responsibility I felt tonight for the NBL and for Australian basketball, to do a really good job on home soil and get other people to get an opportunity to play an NBA team.”
United's performance drew praise from Pelicans head coach Willie Green, with a star-studded NBA roster pushed right to the final buzzer.
“We watched a tonne of film on these guys. They do a great job of running their offence, they run it with force, they run it with pace,” Green said.
“They are extremely unselfish and they made it tough for us tonight. They’re a heck of a team.”
Close to 15,000 fans packed into Rod Laver Arena to witness the first ever NBA team playing in Australia.
The Pelicans will look to build on their win when they take on South East Melbourne on Sunday at 2pm AEST, while United now shift back into Hungry Jack's NBL mode ahead of Wednesday's Ignite Cup game with Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena.
