"ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- It's a few minutes before tipoff in the first NBA game of any sort in the 2025-26 season and the basketball court inside Etihad Arena is overflowing with training camp-sized rosters of Knicks and 76ers players and officials. On the sideline, Patrick Ewing is shaking hands with a man from Beirut who is wearing a vintage No. 33 Knicks jersey."
"Throughout the crowd, many Emirati men are wearing kanduras, traditional ankle-length white robes, but they are vastly outnumbered by ex-pats from dozens of other countries, including a teenager from Riyadh a few rows behind the 76ers bench, wearing an Anthony Edwards Team USA jersey and a pair of the newest version of Edwards' Adidas signature shoes, which technically hadn't even been released yet."
"Next to the team benches are two of the most powerful men in the NBA, Knicks owner James Dolan and commissioner Adam Silver, laughing and chatting, warmly embracing the evening together despite years of frosty relations. Standing between Dolan and Silver is the man who brought them together: His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, who has spent the past decade developing relationships and directing growing investment dollars to bring top stakeholders in the sport to Abu Dhabi."
An NBA preseason game at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi brought Knicks and 76ers players, celebrities, and diverse international fans to a newly prominent basketball event. The crowd included Emirati men in kanduras and many expatriates, with examples like a Riyadh teenager wearing Anthony Edwards gear. Patrick Ewing, Derrick Rose and other NBA figures attended. Knicks owner James Dolan and commissioner Adam Silver appeared together and interacted cordially. His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak orchestrated the event by cultivating relationships and directing investment to attract major basketball stakeholders to Abu Dhabi. The gathering signals growing Middle East influence in global basketball.
Read at ESPN.com
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