National pride, not boyhood dreams, proved the defining motivation as the Sydney Kings played in the NBL's first NBA pre-season game on Tuesday.

As expected, the Kings lost, 108-84, to a side ranked among the best defences in the NBA last season.

But they managed to battle back from 20 points down during the first quarter, and won plenty of admirers in the process.

The game was a culmination of many months' work for the NBL, led by league owner Larry Kestelman, as it pushed the NBA to let it take the court in America.

Utah Jazz have a passionate supporter base, but with the game coming on a Monday night and the team still recovering from the loss of star guard Gordon Hayward to free agency, the crowd was sizeable and loud but smaller than at an NBA regular-season game.

While the massive differences in pay packets, facilities and television deals were cited in the lead-up, the opening jump perhaps showed the biggest difference – with the Jazz's French centre Ruby Gobert (216 centimetres) facing off with Kings import Perry Ellis (203cm).

Gobert was dominant for almost every minute he was on the court, especially in the opening term, when the Jazz took a 35-16 lead.

But the Kings fought back to within eight points during the second and third quarters, before the Jazz pulled away to claim victory.

Sadly for both sides, there were noticeable problems with the game statistics and final scoring tallies, with NBA.com listing Jazz guard Rodney Hood as leading scorer with 18 points and Gobert 15 points and 10 rebounds. Ellis led the Kings with 16 points, Jason Cadee had 14 points and Rio Olympian Kevin Lisch added 13 points.

Lisch said the Kings wanted to show they could match it with NBA players.

"It was a lot of fun, I think we were a bit hesitant to begin with," he said. "Speaking for myself, when you have represented your country in the Olympics, that is the ultimate and this gets pretty close to that.

"I looked at this as a chance to show Australian basketball is pretty good, and we did that in spurts.

"What makes the NBA players so good is that they do it consistently. It wasn't a personal thing, it was more overall just trying to put Australia on the map a little more."

Kings veteran Tom Garlepp said it was a thrill to play on an NBA court. But he said the visits to state-of-the-art training facilities at the University of Utah and at the Jazz were also a highlight.

"It was awesome," Garlepp said. "I have watched someone like [Jazz veteran] Joe Johnson since he was in college at Arkansas and then through all phases of his 17-year NBA. Then you step on the court tonight and he is running around out there – the whole week here has been very cool."

Australian star and Jazz guard Dante Exum, who scored 11 points and defended well, said it was a special night hearing Advance Australia Fair played before an NBA game.

"They did a great job in representing the league tonight," Exum said. "I think there were only down 11 at half-time and they showed the grit of Australian basketball and how we have developed as a nation in the years to come. Hopefully we can get down there soon."

Melbourne United will play Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City on Monday (AEDT) and Brisbane Bullets face Phoenix Suns in Phoenix on October 14.