4-time NBA Champion, Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal named official NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022 ambassador LONDON/ABU DHABI: The National Basketball Association and Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi have announced that tickets for the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022 will go on general sale on Thursday, June 30. The games will feature the Atlanta Hawks and the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks playing two preseason games at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Oct. 6 and Saturday, Oct. 8, marking the league’s first games in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf. Special ticket packages offering premium access, VIP experiences, hospitality, and local hotel accommodation will also be available for purchase at NBAEvents.com/AbuDhabi from June 30. As part of the announcement, the league also named four-time NBA champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame star Shaquille O’Neal as the official NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022 ambassador. In this capacity, O’Neal, who was selected to the NBA 75th anniversary team in October as the league tipped off its landmark 75th anniversary season, will attend the games, participate in youth development programming, and interact with local fans during the week. The NBA will also become the first North American sports league to launch social media channels in Arabic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@NBAArabic), providing comprehensive in-language news and content for fans in the region and around the world beginning June 30. The Hawks currently feature two-time NBA All-Star Trae Young, 2020-21 NBA rebounding leader Clint Capela, and 2018 NBA All-Rookie Second Team members John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Bucks meanwhile have two-time Kia NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, three-time NBA All-Star Khris Middleton, and four-time NBA All-Defensive Team member Jrue Holiday. The two teams met in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, with the Bucks going on to win their first NBA championship in 50 years. The Abu Dhabi event will air live in the UAE and throughout the Middle East and North Africa on beIN SPORTS, The Sports Channel, and NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live-game subscription service. The games will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories around the world on television, digital media, and social media. They are part of a groundbreaking multiyear partnership between the NBA and DCT Abu Dhabi that earlier this year saw the launch of the first Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League, a youth basketball league for 450 boys and girls aged between 11 and 14 from local schools in Abu Dhabi. The partnership also includes a variety of interactive fan events featuring appearances by current and former NBA players, a series of NBA FIT clinics promoting health and wellness, and an NBA 2K League exhibition event at Middle East Film and Comic Con. The partnership will also see DCT Abu Dhabi, under the Visit Abu Dhabi banner, the tourism promotion initiative of the UAE’s capital city, serve as an official tourism destination partner of the NBA in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and China. More than 220 male and female prospects from the Middle East – including five players from the UAE – have participated in Basketball Without Borders or NBA Academy, the league’s elite basketball development programs for top prospects from outside the US. Since 2019, more than 500 boys and girls have also participated in the NBA Basketball School Dubai (UAE), a year-round, tuition-based basketball development program for six- to 18-year-olds.