The Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks will have two preseason matchups in Abu Dhabi in October, marking the NBA’s first games in the United Arab Emirates and the Arabian Gulf.
The two exhibitions will take place on 6 October and 8 October at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The NBA announced the games on Tuesday in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.
They are the third and fourth international preseason games known to be on the next season’s schedule.
The Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards are traveling to Saitama, Japan, for the Games on September 30 and October 2. This will be the first game for the NBA outside North America since January 24, 2020, when Milwaukee and Charlotte met. For regular season games in Paris, about six weeks before the global pandemic began.
The last time the NBA traveled overseas for preseason competitions was in October 2019, when Sacramento and Indiana played twice in Mumbai, Houston and Toronto played twice in Saitama and the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn played a pair in China. had played.
Teams traveling abroad for pre-season games are usually allowed to open training camps a few days before the rest of the league. Most teams are expecting camp to begin on 26 September, which – assuming the schedule remains as usual – will put the league on target to hold an opening night next season on 18 October.
The Bux-Hawks exhibition, billed as the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022, are part of a multi-year partnership between the NBA and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum visited Abu Dhabi in November to sign a multi-year agreement between the league and tourism officials there.
The partnership includes earlier this year the launch of the first Junior NBA Abu Dhabi League, a youth basketball league for 450 boys and girls aged 11-14 from Abu Dhabi schools.
The partnership also includes a variety of interactive fan events including attendance of current and former NBA players, a series of NBA FIT clinics promoting health and wellness, and NBA 2K League exhibition events at Middle East Film and Comic Con.
,
More Associated Press NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
,
