There is no shortage of Americans plying their trade within the Premier League, while there certainly hasn’t been a lack of sporting events coming from over the pond showcasing their respective American sports to the English public – it is the time of the NBA who will be strutting their stuff at the O2 Arena in London this week. One interested observer will be Tim Howard, who will be keeping an eye on his favourite NBA team – the New York Knicks.

The Everton keeper is a huge fan of the NBA and is delighted his basketball side are playing on these shores:

“For me it has to be the New York Knicks. I grew up watching them and you have to stick by your team. I remember watching us lose to the Spurs in the 1999 NBA Finals – that hurt, we had such a good team who did so well to get so far.

“I think the Knicks can do well this year. We have a good team with some great players – Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Jason Kidd – so many big names who seem to be working really well together.”

Tim Howard reveals he has been playing for Basketball for as long as he can remember and his dream was always to be the next Michael Jordan:

“I’ve been playing basketball as long as I can remember. It’s such an easy sport to get involved in, all you need is a ball and a hoop. I still have a hoop in my garden now and play from time-to-time when the weather is nice but I’m a bit out of practice.

I probably could have played ball in college but football took over. My dream when I was a kid was to be Michael Jordan.”

The Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks go head-to-head at The O2 on January 17 as part of NBA London Live presented by adidas. Watch the game live on Sky Sports in HD and 3D. #NBALondon