According to Stern, the Jazz were chosen to participate because of a "great international roster" which features some "terrific young players," including Olympic gold medalists Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.

"... They are a perennial playoff team with a coach who has a little bit of experience," Stern said. "Fans around the world know Jerry Sloan."

All those factors, Stern said, made the Jazz "a natural" choice as an overseas opponent for the Bulls and one of their best players, British-born Luol Deng.

"I am very excited for the opportunity to play in London," Williams said. "I think it will be a fun trip, a great experience for the team, and an excellent chance for many of us to visit a place we have never been before. With London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, hopefully this will also serve as a preview of things to come."

The Jazz will play another game in Europe, presumably against a professional foreign team. Stern said a decision on a date and site would not be finalized for at least "a couple of weeks."

Topping the list of possible host cities are Berlin and Madrid, as The Salt Lake Tribune has previously reported.

The NBA began its "European Live" tours in 2006, when four teams -- the Clippers, 76ers, Suns and Spurs -- played preseason games in Barcelona, Moscow, Rome, Paris, Lyon and Cologne.

In 2007, the Celtics, Grizzlies, Timberwolves and Raptors played exhibition games in Rome, Madrid, London and Istanbul.

Last year, the Heat and Nets played in London and the Hornets and Wizards played in Barcelona and Berlin.

Asked if downsizing the 2009 event was economy-related, Stern said the NBA is "constantly balancing" it global approach and "... this year, two teams [playing] two games achieves our goals."

Stern repeated a plan to play a regular-season NBA game in London by 2012.

"I'm running out of runway," he said, laughing.

Starting in 1990, the Jazz have played an important role in the globalization of NBA Basketball.

In 1990, Utah and Phoenix played a pair of regular-season games in Tokyo -- a first in the history of American-based professional sports.

The Jazz also played exhibition games in Mexico City and Canada, even before the league expanded into Toronto and Vancouver in the early 1990s.

In 2004, the Jazz were scheduled to play CSKA Moscow in an exhibition game in Russia, the homeland of Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko.

The game was canceled, however, because of terrorism concerns after a siege of a Russian schoolhouse by Chechen extremists. Over 300 people died in the attack, more than half of them children.

Lya Wodraska contributed to this report.