The Oklahoma City Thunder will apparently play five-star prospect R.J. Hampton and the New Zealand Breakers in the preseason, according to his agent, George Langberg.
Speaking on the Full 48 podcast with Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Langberg indicated that the Breakers would play the Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2019-20 preseason slate.
Hampton made news this week when he announced that he would not play collegiately and would instead play one year abroad in Australia’s National Basketball League. He had received offers from schools like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Memphis and Florida among others.
Of course, the Thunder playing the Breakers would be intriguing with New Zealand native Steven Adams on the roster but the matchup will be Hampton’s first look at NBA competition. He is expected to be a top-five pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The upcoming games for the Breakers will mark the third straight year in which NBL clubs traveled to the U.S. to play in the NBA preseason. Last year, five NBL teams played a total of seven preseason games, the most games NBA teams played against an international league.
The Thunder last played an NBL team during the 2017-18 preseason when they faced the Melbourne United.
