EXCLUSIVE: NBA Dismisses Rumours Of Saudi Expansion Plans

“We don’t have any current plans to play games in Saudi Arabia,” deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024.

Tatum acknowledged that while the games are broadcast across Saudi Arabia as part of the league’s media rights deal, there are no concrete arrangements to take pre-season or regular season games to the Kingdom at this stage.

The comments follow recent speculation that Saudi Arabia was in discussions to potentially invest in the NBA or facilitate hosting more games in the region.

However, Tatum reiterated that for now, the NBA’s only confirmed plans in the Middle East are to continue the exhibition games in Abu Dhabi, which are taking place for the fourth consecutive year after a successful edition over the October 4-6 weekend.

“We’re currently in discussions with Abu Dhabi about playing games in the future,” he said, highlighting the growing popularity and participation in basketball in the United Arab Emirates.

NBA prioritising fan engagement across the Middle East

While firmly dismissing the Saudi rumours, both Tatum and George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s Head of Fan Engagement, emphasised their strategic focus on building the league’s fanbase across the wider Middle East region.

Aivazoglou pointed to significant growth metrics since the inaugural Abu Dhabi games in 2021, including a 60 per cent increase in basketball participation rates in the UAE, 50 per cent increase across the Middle East, and record regional viewership levels for last season’s NBA finals.

“We have over 10 million followers from the region following NBA accounts,” he revealed, calling it “tremendous success and tremendous momentum.”

The professional basketball league has also renewed its media rights deal with beIN Sports for coverage across the Middle East and North Africa. Plans are in place to broadcast around 40-50 games in primetime for regional audiences in the upcoming 2024-25 season.

As well as hosting two competitive games between the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets, the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024 featured a Fan Appreciation Day packed with fan entertainment. This included player skills contests, music acts and an appearance by basketball league legends such as Kevin Garnett, Muggsy Bogues and Mitch Richmond.

With fans travelling from 43 countries to attend the events at the Etihad Arena, the NBA’s growing global imprint and strategic focus on taking the sport to new markets was clearly on show – albeit not Saudi Arabia for the time being despite the rumours.

Both teams also engaged with the local Abu Dhabi community during their stint, with the Nuggets joining clean-up efforts at beaches and hosting youth basketball clinics.