NBA confirm two games in Abu Dhabi for October 2022
The NBA and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism jointly announced that two preseason games in October 2022 will be staged in the UAE.
Two preparatory games ahead of the 2022/23 season will take place in October 2022 in the United Arab Emirates, the NBA and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism jointly announced on Tuesday.
These games will be the NBA's very first foray into the Gulf with previous pre-season games going ahead in the likes of England, France, Mexico, Japan, China and more recently lately in India. These will be the first games played overseas since the covid pandemic.
The NBA announced it will play two preseason games in Abu Dhabi 🕌
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) November 16, 2021
It marks the first time the league will play in the Arabian Gulf.
The games are set for October 2022. Exact dates and participating teams are TBA. pic.twitter.com/qVb50AQ1Tw
The partnership will see DCT Abu Dhabi, under “Visit Abu Dhabi,” the tourism promotion initiative of the UAE’s capital city, serve as the Official Tourism Destination Partner of the NBA in China, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The partnership which "will also include a variety of interactive events for fans with the presence of current and former league players, the launch of NBA junior leagues for boys and girls in UAE schools promoting the work of 'team and inclusion "or an exhibition of the e-sport + NBA 2K League + competition".
"Organizing NBA games and events in Abu Dhabi is part of our desire to develop basketball around the world," said Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner of the body, who signed the multi-year agreement adding: "Abu Dhabi is a vibrant multicultural hub with a demonstrated track record of hosting world-class sporting events".
Abu Dhabi has consistently demonstrated its ability to host world-class sporting events, and the addition of the NBA to our impressive year-round portfolio only reinforces the UAE capital's position as a centre of sporting excellence. pic.twitter.com/QwnVgsMBet
— Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (@dctabudhabi) November 16, 2021
New NBA markets
The NBA, which is one of the most globalized professional sports leagues, is constantly in search of new territories and playing fields and even more so after its relationship with Beijing has been undergoing issues for the past two years following a series of tweets from former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey (now with the 76ers) who publicly expressed his support for the protesters in Hong Kong.
Sunday's Rockets-Lakers game was broadcast in China via Tencent ... Houston's first game shown in China since former GM Daryl Morey's tweet in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in October 2019
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 11, 2021
The Sixers, Morey's new team, have not been aired in China this season
The relationship also suffered when Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter recently lambasted China over human rights on his social media profile, directly attacking Chinese President Xi Jinping and supporting Tibet's self-determination.