The NBA is in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS – This isn't going to be a first.

Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker already have gone head to head in an NBA environment. The top two picks in the 2014 draft played against each other in a Summer League game in July in Las Vegas.

Wiggins, the former Kansas Jayhawk, had 18 points. Former Duke Blue Devil Parker finished with 17.

But Friday night will be the first time the anticipated future NBA superstars will compete as members of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. While it's preseason, this is still a bigger deal than the Summer League.

And it's going to be in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, of all places.

It's the presence of Wiggins and Parker that have spurred very solid ticket sales for a game that doesn't count and is between two lower-profile NBA clubs. U.S. Cellular Center officials didn't want to divulge exact number of tickets sold, only saying they hoped the 7:05 tip would be a sellout.

As of Thursday afternoon, www.ticketmaster.com showed tickets were still available, though virtually all were of the higher-end variety ($46 to $214). Source Media Group is one of the sponsors of the game.

'The response has been huge,” said Sarah Madalinski, Director of Sales and Marketing for the U.S. Cellular Center. 'It's pretty awesome that this will be the first NBA game for so many people. They get to see perhaps the next Lebron James, right here in our own backyard.”

Wiggins was taken first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers but traded over the summer to the Timberwolves in a block-buster deal that sent star Kevin Love to Cleveland. Parker went number two to the Bucks.

Both are 6-foot-8, 19 years old and franchise building blocks. The debate about which will turn out to be the better NBA player in the long run is raging.

Other Bucks of note include forward Ersan Ilyasova and 6-11 guard Giannis Antetokounmpo, emerging European players for first-year coach Jason Kidd. Milwaukee had the worst record in the NBA in 2013-14.

Minnesota lost Love and appears to be rebuilding but gained Wiggins to go with dynamic point guard Ricky Rubio and 13th-overall pick Zach LaVine, a shooting guard who played for Steve Alford at UCLA.

The Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets played a NBA preseason game Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Madalinski said she hoped this wouldn't be the last time you'll see the league in Cedar Rapids.

'I think we're definitely making a great first impression,” she said.

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