The United Arab Emirates will host NBA matches for the first time in October.
The Atlanta Hawks and 2021 champions the Milwaukee Bucks will play two pre-season games on 6 and 8 October in Abu Dhabi.
The matches at the 18,000-seat Etihad Arena on Yas Island will be the league’s first in the Persian Gulf.
The Bucks-Hawks exhibitions are part of a multi-year partnership between the NBA and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism.
NBA pre-season games have been staged abroad since 1978 when the Washington Bullets travelled to Israel to play Maccabi Tel Aviv.
However, in 2019 the NBA faced a backlash when travelling to China for two pre-season matches after a Houston Rockets executive posted a tweet expressing support for protestors in Hong Kong which caused China’s state broadcasters to refuse to show the games.
