The NBA's global expansion continues as the league is set to play the first NBA game of any kind in Africa on Aug. 1. And NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes this is just the beginning of things to come.

"Part of why I'm here is to continue to investigate new facilities," Silver said. "We would want a larger, more modern arena for a regular season or preseason game here. And it's also to test the response here. These things take time, but I'm very confident that in the not-too-distant future, we will be playing, to begin with, a preseason game on the continent of Africa.

20 NBA stars, led by Chris Paul and Sudan native Luol Deng, will be playing an exhibition game at an old 4,000-seat arena in Johannesburg"”a tiny venue by NBA standards.

"What I'd like to see is a group of some of out very best players showcasing the game, demonstrating how fun and exciting the game is," said Silver. "The players bringing their talents direct to Johannesburg as opposed to people getting it off media."

The exhibition game's format is in a Team World versus Team Africa set-up, with Spain's Pau and Marc Gasol, are playing alongside Paul and company, while Giannis Antetokounmpo and Al-Farouq Aminu (who both trace their roots to Nigeria), among some of the Team Africa players.

The NBA has increasingly widened their reach, regularly playing preseason games in China and Europe. They've also been playing regular season games in London, and have even played preseason games in smaller countries like the Philippines and Taiwan.

Before the exhibition game on Aug. 1, the NBA also conducted basketball clinics for the youth of South Africa. Apart from the players some notable coaches also made the trip, with San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and reigning Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer leading the pack.