Australia has seen plenty of its players in the NBA over the years: Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Andrew Bogut, Ben Simmons, Luc Longley, Matthew Dellavedova and Josh Giddey, to name a few. Kyrie Irving was born there as well.

And now, an NBA team is going to play Down Under.

The New Orleans Pelicans made the nearly 10,000-mile trip this week for a pair of games — first Friday against Melbourne United, then Sunday against the South East Melbourne Phoenix. Both of those clubs are from Australia’s top league, the NBL. The Pelicans arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday.

There's a historical aspect, in being the first NBA team to go to Australia, and there's also a slew of other perks that can bring a team together on such a trip, Pelicans coach Willie Green said. NBA players have competed in Australi

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