NBA Nostalgia: Vancouver, Montreal Join Seattle as 2018 NBA Preseason Hosts

Get your Bryant Reeves jerseys ready, the NBA is coming back to Vancouver in 2018!

Unfortunately, it won’t be for good, and there definitely won’t be any teal-colored uniforms on the court. Instead, it will be a one-night-only event as part of the NBA Canada Series. The Toronto Raptors, the NBA’s only Canadian team, will host the Portland Trail Blazers in a preseason game at the former home of the Vancouver Grizzlies — Rogers Arena.

Since the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Portland is actually the closest team geographically to Vancouver.

In addition, the Bell Centre in Montreal will host a game between the Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets.

And if the Vancouver nostalgia isn’t enough for NBA fans, there will also be a preseason game at Seattle’s Key Arena this fall. In that game, former Sonics player Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors will face the Sacramento Kings.

After games in Canadian cities from 2012-16, the league didn’t have any last season. Per Wikipedia, it will be Vancouver’s fourth preseason game in the series and Montreal’s fifth. In other years, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Calgary have hosted games.

2018 Dates:

• Portland Trail Blazers vs. Toronto Raptors — September 29th, 2018, Rogers Arena
• Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors — October 6th, 2018, Key Arena
• Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors — October 10th, 2018, Bell Centre

While it won’t heal their wounds, it’s a nice little band-aid for two Canadian cities that have seen professional teams torn from them. Of course, in addition to the Grizzlies’ move, the Expos were moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C. over a decade ago.

It would be nice to see a permanent NBA team in Vancouver again. The same goes for an MLB team in Montreal. On the official NBA Canada Series site, you have the option to “register interest” for the event. I imagine this could be a tactic to gauge Canada’s interest in NBA basketball. So if you have time, head over there and show your support. I mean, don’t you wanna see those teal-and-black duds again? I know I do.