The war in Iran has reached the NBA’s calendar.
For the first time in five years, the league will not host a preseason game in the Middle East as a result of the U.S.’s ongoing conflict with Iran. The news was first reported by ESPN.
A year ago, the Knicks started off their championship run with a pair of preseason games in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates against the Sixers. While no matchup was ever announced, ESPN reported that the Cavaliers, Heat, Nets and Wizards all discussed potentially playing in a game there.
The U.S. attacked Iran in February as part of a joint military strike with Israel, which resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The conflict is still ongoing despite multiple cease fires.
The Middle East has become a major priority for the NBA in recent years. Commissioner Adam Silver sat courtside with His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak who leads Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism and is an avid NBA fan.
Al Mubrarak has been reported as a potential investor in the NBA’s prospective European league. European soccer power Manchester City is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is the UAE’s deputy prime minister. Knicks owner James Dolan, who is CEO of Sphere Entertainment, also reached a deal with Al Mubrarak to construct one of his high-tech entertainment complexes in Abu Dhabi in the near future.
“When I close my eyes, I can see an NBA game being played in front of 22,500 people at the Sphere,” Al Mubarak told ESPN in October.
In January, the league announced an extension of its existing partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, which came with the NBA building a Global Academy in Abu Dhabi.
“Our collaboration with DCT Abu Dhabi has been instrumental in growing basketball participation and fandom in the UAE and across the Middle East,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in a release announcing the news. “We look forward to building on those efforts in the years to come, including through the launch of an NBA Global Academy that will help develop elite-level players from the region and around the world.”
The NBA is expected to return to Abu Dhabi in the future, but there is no timeline due to the ongoing conflict. The league’s international games this year will be preseason ones in Quebec City, Vancouver, and Macao, with regular season games in Mexico City, Paris, and Manchester.
The NBA also explored playing a game in Qatar, ESPN reported. The Qatar Investment Authority holds a stake in Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the umbrella company for the Wizards and Mystics. Qatar will host the 2027 FIBA World Cup next August.
Formula 1 is dealing with a similar predicament. The racing league recently announced it would move the Bahrain Grand Prix to Malaysia in October. F1 previously postponed the race in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia—which were supposed to take place in the spring—due to the war.
