The inaugural NBA Fan Appreciation Day in Abu Dhabi will take place on Friday, October 6 from 4:30pm GST at the Etihad Arena. The unique fan experience includes performances by Mavericks and Timberwolves players, as well as NBA legends, including 19-time NBA All-Star and six-time NBA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and two-time NBA Champion Kenny Smith. Activities include a skill contest and three-point contest featuring Mavericks and Timberwolves players, performances by the Mavericks Entertainment Team, Timberwolves Dunk Team and team mascots, and a slam dunk contest featuring professional dunkers.
“NBA District,” an interactive fan event that welcomed nearly 10,000 fans last year, will return to Manarat Al Saadiyat from Tuesday, October 5 through Sunday, October 8. Fans can meet five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway Sr. and nine-time NBA All-Star and NBA Champion Gary Payton participate in basketball activities on a full-size NBA court, watch NBA highlights and programs, snap a photo with the Larry O’Brien Trophy and shop for limited edition NBA merchandise and more.
First access to NBA Fan Appreciation Day Abu Dhabi tickets will be offered to NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 ticket holders via a unique link starting today and for a period of one week before tickets go public on September 14 go sale. NBA District tickets, priced at AED 55 for a one-day pass and AED 180 for a four-day pass, are available now at Ticketmaster.ae.
“We’re excited to expand our fan program around this year’s games by introducing NBA Fan Appreciation Day in Abu Dhabi and bringing back the NBA District,” said George Aivazoglou, Head of Fan Engagement and Direct-to- Consumer at NBA Europe and Middle East. “Through these events, fans of all ages from Abu Dhabi and abroad will have more opportunities to interact with the NBA, the Mavericks and the Timberwolves.”
Presented by ADQ, the 2023 NBA Abu Dhabi Games will be streamed live across the United Arab Emirates and across the Middle East and North Africa on beIN SPORTS, The Sports Channel and NBA League Pass, reaching fans in more than 200 countries and territories on TV, digital media and social media. In addition to presenting partner ADQ, the games and surrounding events will be supported by a number of marketing partners including Aldar, Experience Abu Dhabi, Gatorade, Nike and Tissot.
Presented by ADQ, the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 follows last year’s preseason games between the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, which were the league’s first games in the Arabian Gulf. In January, the NBA and DCT Abu Dhabi launched an expanded second season of the Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League with boys’ and girls’ leagues each consisting of 450 players aged 11-14 from schools in the UAE capital. The collaboration also includes a series of interactive fan events featuring performances by current and former NBA players, a series of NBA FIT health and wellness clinics, and an NBA 2K League exhibition event. Through the collaboration, DCT Abu Dhabi will serve as the NBA’s Official Tourism Destination Partner in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and China as part of Experience Abu Dhabi, the tourism promotion initiative of the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
NBA games have been broadcast in the United Arab Emirates since the 1987-88 season. Fans can keep following the NBA Instagram, Snapchat And X (@NBAArabic) for the latest updates, news and content in Arabic. NBA fans in the UAE and across the Middle East can shop online at NBAStoreME.com and the NBA Store at Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi for the largest selection of authentic NBA merchandise ever available in the region.
Tickets for the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 presented by ADQ are available at etihadarena.ae and ticketmaster.ae. Special ticket packages with premium access, VIP experiences, hospitality and local hotel accommodation are also available at https://nbaexperiences.com/nba-abu-dhabi-games-2023.
