Exploring the full list of NBA games that will be played outside of the US and Canada during the 2024-25 season.
The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets will be the first two teams to report for training camp, which is roughly two weeks away. As they begin their seasons in hopes of a championship ending, the last two NBA Champs will begin their pre-season slate in Abu Dhabi as they will participate in two exhibition games overseas.
As has become a tradition, the NBA continues to expand its borders across the globe. In an attempt to continue to promote not only the NBA but also the sport of basketball, these games could be viewed as important in building the brand. Sending two extremely talented teams (and legit title contenders) like the Celtics and Nuggets is a great way to sell the NBA's product.
But this is not the only international event that the NBA will be putting forth this season. Before the start of the season arrives, let's take a look at the NBA's complete international schedule for this season.
The schedule of NBA games that will be played outside of US & Canada
NBA Pre-season schedule:
October 4 - Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets - Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
October 6 - Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets - Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
NBA regular season schedule:
November 2 - Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards - Mexico City, MX
January 23 - Indian Pacers vs. San Antonio Spurs - Paris, France
January 25 - Indian Pacers vs. San Antonio Spurs - Paris, France
As the NBA's influence continues to expand across the globe, there's a reasonable expectation that the list of international games the NBA plays over the course of a season could expand. If the league can get to a place where they're comfortable with the travel schedules and if they can find the right amount of rest needed to pull off such a feat, it would be surprising if we saw less international games in the future and not more.
The rest of the world continues to make up ground on the USA in terms of the sport of basketball. The NBA's influence has clearly played a big part in that. And now that we're seeing more and more international stars at the forefront of the NBA's talent, that will likely continue to be the case moving forward.