Stephen Curry returns to Japan, Roy Hachimura will return home with a match planned by the NBA and this is another step in the return to normal life.
The National Basketball Association announced Monday that the Golden State and Washington will travel to Saitama, Japan, for the first two games of the 2022 pre-season. The Warriors and Wizards will play on September 30 and the second in October.
These are the first two games the NBA will play outside the United States and Canada since January 24, 2020, when Milwaukee and Charlotte met in Paris for a regular game of the season six weeks before the pandemic began.
The last time the NBA traveled outside of pre-season games was in October 2019, when Sacramento and Indiana met twice in Mumbai, while Houston and Toronto played twice in Saitama and Los Angeles and the Brooklyn Lakers played two games.
The league struck a deal to bring some matches to Abu Dhabi for the first time this fall, though they haven’t revealed which teams will travel for pre-season matches.
“We have been fortunate to build important relationships throughout Japan, and some of our players, including Stephen Curry, have enjoyed their recent visits to Tokyo and the interaction they have had with basketball fans who love the game,” said the player. From Warriors Joe Lacope.
The announcement was made in Tokyo on Tuesday – Monday night in the US – and it was probably no coincidence that it happened before the Warriors Wizards match started.
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