As the 2024-25 NBA season draws near, preseason action kickstarts across the league with the 2024 Abu Dhabi Games at the forefront, Afrosport reports.
Reigning NBA champions, Boston Celtics, will face off against 2023 champions Denver Nuggets in a preseason match on Friday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Both the Celtics and Nuggets will also meet for a second match on Sunday as part of an action-packed pre-season event on Yas Island.
Since 2022 there has been a multi-year partnership between the NBA and the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi as they look to grow the sport worldwide – it will be the third consecutive year that Abu Dhabi has hosted NBA preseason matches.
⚒️ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒔! 🍀
The last 2️⃣ NBA Champions, @nuggets & @celtics, face off against each other at the 𝐀𝐛𝐮 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, and you do not want to miss this! 🏆#NBAinAbuDhabi #NBAxADG pic.twitter.com/rifo36jOtf
— NBA India (@NBAIndia) October 3, 2024
What are the NBA Abu Dhabi Games?
As part of a partnership between the NBA and Abu Dhabi, the Games are one of four international showdowns on the NBA calendar this forthcoming season, joining the NBA Mexico City Game 2024, NBA Canada Series and NBA Paris Games 2025.
How many NBA Abu Dhabi Games have been played?
This edition of the Games will be the third time NBA teams have battle in Abu Dhabi. This year, 18-time NBA champions, Celtics, will lock horns against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in a highly-anticipated preseason contest.
In the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Games in 2022, a pair of matches were played between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, with the latter winning both games. Atlanta won the first 123-113 on October 6, 2022, before clinching the second tie 118-109 two days later.
Meanwhile, last year’s edition, the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023, had the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks in attendance. The Wolves won the two games: a 111-99 victory on October 5, 2023, and a 104-96 win on October 7.
When and where are the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024?
The Celtics and Nuggets will face off twice in the space of two days in the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024. The first game will be played at Yas Island’s Etihad Arena on October 4, while on October 6, they will battle again at the same venue that hosted the Games in 2022 and 2023.
Boston v Denver head-to-head
The Celtics and Nuggets have met a 100 hundred times in the NBA regular season with Boston winning 60 of their matchups while Denver have 40 wins.
