The first ‘official’ preseason games held in the UAE capital in October last year featuring a couple of games between Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks may have exceeded expectations that the NBA is planning a quick return this year.
Reports say that Luka Doncic, who scored a career-high 60 points a couple of weeks ago, with his Dallas Mavericks is in the discussion to play at least one preseason game in Abu Dhabi.
“After the NBA staged its first exhibition games in the region in October, with Milwaukee and Atlanta squaring off twice in the United Arab Emirates, league sources say there are plans for the Luka Dončić-led Dallas Mavericks to play a preseason game next season in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi…” (from NBC Sports)
Former Maverick, Jason Kidd, also among the 75 greatest NBA players of all time, currently coaches the Mavs.
(If plans come to fruition) this is going to be big for the hoops fans in the region.
More to follow about this story, but if you’re a Luka fan, you better start saving for the tickets now.
USA Basketball Team to visit Abu Dhabi
Also included in the newsletter was a snippet about a star-studded Team USA’s plan to arrange a “preparatory stay” in Abu Dhabi ahead of the FIBA World Cup
“Sources tell me that USA Basketball, furthermore, is in the process of arranging a preparatory stay in Abu Dhabi in August before it proceeds to the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will be staged from Aug. 25-Sept. 10, 2023, in Indonesia, Japan and The Philippines.” (Mark Stein, as published in NBC Sports)
