The Atlanta Hawks are set to make history this offseason. The NBA announced that the Hawks would travel to Abu Dhabi to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the first-ever games to take place in the United Arab Emirates.
The Hawks will play two games in the Arab nation which has a tremendous ability to try and open up new markets for the league. The games will take place on the 6th and 8th of October and will form a large portion of the Hawks’ preseason campaign.
This is not the first time that the Hawks have broken ground for the NBA. 35 years ago the Hawks went over to Russia to be the first NBA team to play in that nation. It was a trip that lasted for two weeks in a time when the mod-cons of today’s travel just did not exist.
The Atlanta Hawks are starting off a multi-year partnership on behalf of the NBA
The NBA has partnered with Abu Dhabi for multiple years meaning that they are looking to make their mark in a new destination. This is a truly amazing opportunity for the Hawks to gain more foreign followers which can only be beneficial for the franchise.
It is not the first time that the NBA has developed a relationship with countries outside the USA. They have played 76 games outside of North America, with 25 of those being in China. Unfortunately thanks to the tweet from the then Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey this market dried up.
The NBA has also played 19 games in Mexico, six in both England and Puerto Rico, and three in both France and Germany. They also have played two games in six other nations and one in two more.
In the next few seasons, Abu Dhabi has the chance to become one of the next big markets for the NBA, especially with the potential sponsorship opportunities the right team might be able to generate. Let us hope that is the Atlanta Hawks with Trae Young hopefully being the marquee player in this market. Let’s just hope that he does not injure himself in the game.