NBA Preseason Game Will Be Played In Abu Dhabi This Year
10/04/2024 10:41 AM
As the NBA continues to expand beyond the borders of the United States, the association is sending two of its best teams to the United Arab Emirates city of Abu Dhabi for a preseason game ahead of the start of the season.
According to ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, the city will play host to a preseason game between the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets at the start of the preseason as part of an apparent pivot from China to the Middle East.
"The games represent a centerpiece of the league's deepening relationship with power brokers in the Middle East. Since the NBA returned to normal operations after the interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth in the Arabian Peninsula has largely replaced China as the NBA's front-facing international focus," Windhorst wrote.
Celtics & Nuggets are kicking off preseason in Abu Dhabi, which has become one of the NBA's closet partners as the relationship with China has slowed.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) October 4, 2024
Middle East partners are looking for more, including ownership someday, and the league's ties there are deepening:…
The NBA's relationship with China has been widely criticized by American conservatives who have pointed out the hypocrisies of advocating for social justice while also taking vast sums of money from a nation that has its own human rights violations.
Of course, pivoting from China to the Middle East isn't exactly going to stop those same critics from speaking out against it as many Middle East nations - the UAE not at all accepted - for their own human rights records.
But the NBA is going to get its global business partners whether people like it or not. And by the looks of things Abu Dhabi is going to be the first of potentially many partners looking to get their foot into the league.
