This weekend’s Celtics-Nuggets games are the biggest yet the NBA has staged at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, part of a sparkling sports and entertainment complex that has amusement parks, a golf course that hosts a DP World Tour golf playoff event and a racetrack where the Formula 1 season culminates each year. Over the past three years, six NBA preseason games and four Team USA exhibition games have been played in Abu Dhabi. The crowds are large and diverse, made up largely of expats and tourists. In July, a record crowd of more than 12,000 fans attended a Team USA exhibition game against Australia, thousands lining up in the midsummer heat just to watch the Americans warm up. The NBA has more preseason games in Abu Dhabi on the way in the future as part of a long-term contract signed in 2021.
by Hoops Hype