UNITED States National Basketball Association (NBA) games will soon be beamed live to South Africa, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said yesterday.

"It is a done deal. We are going to sign the deal in the United States on Saturday (tomorrow)," he told delegates at a sport, environment and climate change seminar in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal.

Mbalula said the deal would be signed between the US NBA and the SA Basketball Association. The games would be broadcast by the SA Broadcasting Corporation.

"We are doing this because we know that basketball is big in South Africa. This deal will expose our players to the high level of basketball," Mbalula said.

"Basketball has not been given the attention it deserves."

The deal would include the training of South African players and the exchange of players between the two countries.