Basketball fans get say in worldwide playoff chat

Reuters
San Antonio Spurs fans celebrate during the game against the Miami Heat in game five of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - From Indonesia to Africa, across all time zones and nine languages the National Basketball Association will enter the post-season by engaging fans around the world with a social media playoff chat on Thursday. The NBA told Reuters on Wednesday it will make 20 or more players available to take questions from every corner of the globe underlining the league's continuing international growth. Germany's Detlef Schrempf, Congo's Dikembe Mutombo, Spain's Jose Calderon and Canada's Sim Bhullar, the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA, will be among those answering questions on the league's Facebook and Twitter platforms. With more than 811 million likes and followers across all social platforms, the NBA has used social media to help grow the league and the sport beyond the U.S. borders. (Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Frank Pingue)