NBA AND GARANTI BANK ANNOUNCE MARKETING PARTNERSHIP

-- Garanti to Present NBA Skills Challenge in Turkey --

LONDON, APRIL 30, 2008 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Garanti Bank today announced a new marketing partnership that will make Garanti Bank an Official Banking Partner of the NBA in Turkey.

Through this wide-reaching partnership, Garanti will be the presenting partner of the NBA Skills Challenge, an interactive basketball skills promotion in Turkey. Garanti will also support future NBA-themed events in the country over the next two years.

“Garanti Bank is a leading financial institution that will help bring exciting NBA events and attractions to Turkey,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, NBA Europe Vice President for Marketing Partnerships and Business Development. “ Turkey has a tremendous history and passion for the game of basketball, and with the support of Garanti, we are able to bring more NBA events to fans in the country.”

The NBA Skills Challenge presented by Garanti, will be the first event of its kind in Turkey and follows the successful launch of the D-League Go Pro Challenge in the U.S., which was the first-ever online promotion for aspiring players to chase their hoop dreams showcasing their skills with the hopes of reaching the NBA D-League. The NBA Skills Challenge encourages basketball players, from 13 to 18 years of age, to display their skills on www.nba-garanti.com and be selected to attend a trip to Orlando, Florida to participate in an instructional basketball camp hosted by the Orlando Magic in July.

How the “Skills Challenge” works:

Participation

  • Aspiring players will submit a video up to three minutes in length, which best displays their basketball skill level.
  • Participation is free and open to all basketball players, ages 13 to 18, at the time of entry.
  • Submissions can be made the following ways:
    • Videos are currently being accepted at www.nba-garanti.com and will continue until May 23, 2008.
    • Three street filming events will be scheduled throughout Turkey in May ( Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir), where players can be filmed and have their video submitted by the NBA.

Selection Process

  • Visitors to www.nba-garanti.com will select the top-100 submissions to be considered for the next round.
  • The 100 players’ videos will then be evaluated by an expert basketball panel of judges, from which 30 players will be selected to attend a ‘Finalist Camp’ in Istanbul from June 13 to 15.
  • At the Istanbul camp, basketball coaches will select the four winners that will attend the instructional camp in Orlando, Florida.

Along with Garanti, the NBA Skills Challenge will also be supported by adidas, who will serve as the official apparel partner, and media partners NTV Sport, Best FM and Hurriyet.

Basketball has a rich history in Turkey and with the success of current NBA players Hedo Turkoglu (Orlando Magic) and Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz), basketball has continued to gain popularity in the country. Fans in Turkey have an increasing number of ways to connect with the NBA, as games are broadcast on NTV and over 11 million visitors from Turkey have logged onto NBA.com in the past year. In 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves became the first NBA team to play a game in Turkey, when they played Efes Pilsen during NBA Europe Live 2007, while visits from initiatives such as NBA Madness and the adidas NBA 5IVE provided young players an opportunity to feel the NBA experience.

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2007-08 season, the NBA will distribute games and programming to 215 countries and territories in 41 languages. The league’s worldwide reach can also be seen with 76 international players from 30 countries and territories on NBA rosters. Domestically, the NBA broadcasted 142 games on national television last season on ABC, TNT, ESPN and ESPN2, and eclipsed attendance records for the fourth consecutive season.