The Dallas Mavericks head to Abu Dhabi this week to play preseason games as part of the NBA’s efforts to grow basketball internationally.
The Mavericks will play two preseason games on Thursday and Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Etohad Arena on Yas Island before continuing their international tour in Madrid against the EuroLeague’s Real Madrid next week. The team has many new players on its roster entering the season and looks at the trip as a way to build chemistry early on while continuing to help the NBA’s efforts to increase its international footprint.
“It’s been fun to think about going to Abu Dhabi, going to Madrid, having the opportunity to play in front of the international community that supports the game of basketball, and just go over there and build camaraderie,” Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving told the media last week.
“I think the trip is going to actually help us because it’s just us for the next 12 days in Abu Dhabi and Madrid,” head coach Jason Kidd added. “These are things that will make your team better [and] become closer.”
The Mavericks last played an NBA game overseas in 2018 and an international game in Mexico City in 2019.
Last preseason was the NBA’s first game in Abu Dhabi, in which the Atlanta Hawks played the Milwaukee Bucks.
The NBA has played games in over 20 different countries, and many of the events, including this year’s Abu Dhabi series, have featured youth clinics with the help of the two teams.
Playing international games has benefited the league and the growth of basketball as groups from the countries begin to get involved. Qatar’s Investment Authority recently bought a 5% stake in the company that owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards.
This deal was another part of the efforts to grow the game after the league’s board of governors allowed “passive, non-controlling, minority investments in NBA teams by institutional investors, including university endowments, foreign and domestic pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds, subject to a set of policy guidelines adopted at that time” in November.
“The value of NBA teams continues to grow year to year, helped by the value of live sports and the global reach of our league,” NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum told the AP. “We anticipate our teams will receive continued interest from institutional investors around the world.”
The Mavericks will return home to face the Detroit Pistons in one final tune-up at the American Airlines center on October 20 before beginning the regular season against the Spurs in San Antonio on October 25.
