Sources: No plans for NBA games in Middle East
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- NBA will skip Middle East preseason games this year for the first time in five years, breaking a four-year streak of Abu Dhabi exhibitions, sources told ESPN
- NBA had discussed participation with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, and Washington Wizards, and explored a first-ever game in Doha, Qatar, on the same trip — plans that were never finalized or announced
- Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism extended its NBA partnership in January, and sources said preseason games will return to Abu Dhabi in the future despite this year's pause
- Qatar Investment Authority, a minority owner of the Washington Wizards' parent company, was tied to the explored Doha game, which the NBA will revisit but has no timeline due to the ongoing conflict
- 2027 FIBA World Cup is scheduled for Doha next August, and an NBA preseason game had been planned as part of the run-up to that event
- New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers played a pair of preseason games in Abu Dhabi in October ahead of the 2025-26 season, the most recent NBA Middle East appearance
- Formula 1 announced its postponed Bahrain grand prix will move to Malaysia in October, and the series is still deciding on its planned Qatar and Abu Dhabi races later this year
Why it matters: The NBA's pause sidelines a growing Gulf presence — four teams were in talks and a first-ever Doha game was being mapped — but the league's January-extended Abu Dhabi partnership stays intact, preserving future revenue and the NBA Global Academy. The indefinite shelving of the Qatar game, linked to the QIA's Wizards ownership stake, defers what would have been the league's second Gulf market.
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