This week it was announced that the NBA is willing to help Great Britain’s drive to compete in the basketball event of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The commissioner of the organisation, David Stern, made this offer whilst in London for the match between Miami and New Jersey, held at the O2 Arena.

He spoke of the “full range of services” that may be made available to the Great Britain team. These services may include specialist coaching and the opportunity to compete in practice matches during the NBA Summer League.

This offer will come as music to the ears of basketball fans around the country, who are desperate to see the national team compete in 2012. They are already guaranteed a place in the Eurobasket finals, to be held in Poland next year, but involvement in the Olympics is not a certainty. However, David Stern has echoed the thoughts of many by stating that “a host should - if they make earnest efforts to develop the sport - be in there”.

Fans of Team GB can rest assured that these exciting words from Stern, offering help and guidance, are not empty promises. Prior to this year’s Olympic Games, held in Beijing, the NBA offered a range of services to the Chinese national team.

They were invited to compete in the NBA Summer League and the high-quality opposition faced during this tour undoubtedly gave the Chinese greater confidence. Furthermore, a developmental team was sent to China to compete against the basketball team and subsequently help them hone their skills. NBA coaches also visited the country to host coaching clinics for the players.

Further evidence of the NBA’s long-running commitment to helping other nations' basketball teams includes the support they offered Great Britain when Luol Deng, the star of the Chicago Bulls team was involved in an insurance issue that threatened his availability earlier this year.

Stern spoke of the intense negotiations held between the NBA and “the potential insurers, to see how much we could narrow the exclusion and whether we could eliminate it”.

The commissioner of the NBA is a very popular figure in the world of basketball and sport in general. He became executive vice-president of the organisation in 1980 before taking up his role as commissioner in 1984.

He was responsible for creating the WNBA, the women’s professional basketball league, and has completely transformed the fortunes of the NBA. He has been influential in setting up training camps and exhibition games around the world, making basketball a truly global sport.

Having a man of this calibre and experience offering assistance is definitely a positive but for now, the team need to focus on doing everything possible to reach the 2012 Olympics without relying on outside help.

If they impress in Poland next year, they may be able to compete in the World Championships in 2010. A place at the World Championships would allow the team to qualify for the European finals the following year and thus automatically secure a place as hosts at the Olympic Games.

Written by Charlotte Cook