NBA - League hopes to bring exhibition games to Brazil by 2014

David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, is seen at the Sun Valley Inn in Sun Valley, Idaho July 8, 2010.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The NBA hopes to play some pre-season games in Brazil by 2014 as the league aims to build its presence outside of the United States, commissioner David Stern said on Wednesday.

"Likely prior to the (2014) World Cup," Stern told reporters in Paris according to a transcript provided by the NBA. "Or my backup position is prior to the (2016 Rio de Janeiro Games).

Stern, in Paris for a pre-season game between the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves, also said the NBA would soon open an office in Brazil.

There are currently several high-profile NBA players who were born in Brazil, including Nene of the Denver Nuggets, Leandro Barbosa of the Toronto Raptors and Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The NBA will play exhibition games this season in Spain, England, Italy, Paris, Mexico and China and for the first time will hold a pair of regular-season games in London in March.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina. Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)