The NBA, NBL, and Victorian Government are finalising a deal to bring an NBA team to Australia to play multiple exhibition games, sources told ESPN.

Melbourne, Victoria is set to host the two games in October, 2025, sources said, which would be between an NBA team and a side the NBL is still finalising. All states were canvassed as potential options, with Victoria ultimately winning the right to host the contests.

The deal is for one year, sources said, with the NBL and Victorian Government expressing an ambition for it to become a semi-regular occurrence.

There are still discussions regarding who the NBA team will face while in Melbourne. It would be one of the two NBL teams based in the city -- Melbourne United or the South East Melbourne Phoenix -- or an NBL select team the league puts together, sources said.

The NBA team that would travel to Australia is still undecided.

It would mark the first time an NBA team has played games in Australia.

"Basketball and the NBA's popularity in Australia is at an all-time high," NBA Asia head of Strategy, Rajah Chaudhry, said in a statement obtained by ESPN. "We are committed to engaging the passionate NBA fans across the country, including in collaboration with the NBL."

The Herald Sun was first to report on the games.

Larry Kestelman -- the NBL's owner -- has met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver face-to-face on multiple occasions over the past two years, sources said, with an eye toward building a relationship between the two leagues. Those meetings played a significant role in the NBA being open to sending a team to Australia.

"We have built a strong relationship with the NBA, and it's a partnership we value immensely," NBL CEO Dave Stevenson said in a statement. "We are constantly exploring possibilities and opportunities for the NBL and NBA's incredibly passionate shared fanbase across Australia and New Zealand."

The NBA's interest in a relationship with the NBL is, in large part, because it identifies the Australian league as a pathway to the Asian market.