THE voice rumbles down the line with the resonance of a runaway freight train negotiating a long, dark tunnel.

Earvin 'Magic' Johnson is talking basketball. It is the most pleasant of duties to listen, though there is a slight sense of trepidation when inviting one of the greatest stars in the NBA's history to send a message to Glasgow.

Johnson, a five-time NBA finals winner with the LA Lakers in the 1980s, and Jeff Van Gundy, former coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, are on the phone to talk about the small matter of the forthcoming NBA season in their roles as ESPN analysts.

This prospect is illuminated by stars of the calibre of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and made compelling because of the collective might of the Miami Heat, the LA Lakers and the increasingly fancied Oklahoma City Thunder.

It seems deeply parochial to insert the locations of Glasgow or even Europe into such an All-American obsession but there is growing enthusiasm for the sport outside the USA.

The difficulty, in a continent dominated by football, is to both nurture the game and tend to its growth. How can basketball stretch to its full height in Europe, in Scotland, in Glasgow? Coach Gundy has an interesting take on how to promote the game in countries such as Scotland and Ireland.

''So many NBA coaches and players love golf, and you guys have some of the best golf. If somehow you could in the off-season tie golf trips into basketball clinics and some historical sites, I mean, I just think you have a wonderful opportunity to get NBA people over there because of some of the greatness of your country, what it has to offer.''

He added: ''The smaller countries sometimes don't get the attention, especially in Europe, because of the strong foothold soccer has there. But basketball to me is beloved by most of the younger set because of the action. It's a great game, and I'm hopeful that your country gets to engage with some of the NBA players and coaches, because it would be a really wonderful opportunity for your youth.''

Magic is similarly enthused. He praises the ''missionary work'' undertaken by the NBA that includes a regular season match in London – this season it's Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks in London in January.

''When the young people are hungry for it, then it explodes in a country because they want more of it,'' he says of the key to growing interest in the sport.

Both Johnson and Van Gundy praise the Glasgow Rocks' model of outreach as a way to improve both the lives in the community and raise interest in the game.

Johnson, who announced he was HIV positive in the early 1990s, has a foundation that not only offers help to sufferers of the illness but has other charitable goals. Van Gundy is a board member of a non-profit organisation that provides educational, job-training, and mentoring services to boys aged 10–18.

''It is great to take the players into the community, take them to the schools, take them to the community groups, let them get to know the guys and the guys get to know the community. If you have dancers, take them with you. If you have mascots, take them, because I think if you make it a family environment, you have a chance to really be successful,'' said Johnson, now 53.

''Making the community a part of the organisation is very, very important, and then have community outreach programs. Invite the community to practice sessions. If you're doing something in the city, make sure the players are there and be a part of it in their uniform. Let them go to schools and put on clinics for the kids, because that's very important. Community outreach is very, very important, especially when you're trying to break basketball in somewhere.''

Van Gundy adds a postscript to that message to Glasgow: ''Keep it as affordable as possible, and then, I think what Magic was saying, is try to get the kids to want to be a fan, come to the games, because their parents will take them where the kids want to go. And come up with some good gear, like have a great logo, great team colours so that everybody wants to wear your stuff, which is a great marketing tool in itself.''

To which Johnson added: '' Give some of that away. Yes, you're going to sell some, but to get it going, give some away.''

The major matter of the future of basketball in Glasgow having been addressed, it was time for playing legend and coach to consider the likely destination of the NBA title. ''I favour them to actually win it all,'' says Van Gundy of Oklahoma. ''Their speed, quickness and depth advantages over the Lakers could be the turning point in a possible series."

Johnson was more coy, but he does not believe the Lakers will be a fully cohesive unit early in the season after the high-profile signings of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash.

"It's not going to be like they're going to come out like gangbusters," said Johnson. "I think they'll be hitting for me on all cylinders probably after the All-Star break and really have an understanding of each other and just what they can do and what they can't do.''

The jury is out on the destination of the title but the verdict has been given in a rumble about how Glasgow can court success.