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In Japan, The Wizards & Warriors will Play a Preseason Matchup

Well before the official launch of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors shall play a set of preseason games in Saitama of Japan, on September 30 & October 2.

For the first time since 2019, the NBA announced intentions to bring games to Japan on Monday night.

Saitama Super Arena

The game between Washington and Golden State will be placed at the Saitama Super Arena, which has a capacity of 36,500 people.

Rui Hachimura, the 9th overall choice in the 2019 NBA Draft and the first Japanese player to be picked in the first round, is on the Wizards’ roster.

“I am very excited to bring Wizards basketball to Japan,” Hachimura said through a news release. “I cannot wait to see the arena filled with fans getting to see NBA basketball in person.”

Japan Games

The Japan Games would be both franchises’ initial trips to Japan, and the NBA’s earliest games outside of the United States since the COVID-19 outbreak. The NBA Global Games series was originally a yearly event, with the most recent match taking place in Paris on Jan. 20 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets.

In 2003, Saitama Super Arena hosted two regular-season games between the Seattle SuperSonics and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards shall play two preseason games throughout Japan in 2022, according to the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Rakuten Group, Inc. The NBA Japan Games 2022 Hosted by Rakuten will be held at Saitama Super Arena on Friday, September 30, and Sunday, October 2 and will be the league’s 15th and 16th games in the nation. The games’ tickets will be available at a later date.

Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, 5-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson, plus 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as well as four-time NBA All-Star Draymond Green, lead the six-time NBA champion Warriors. The Wizards now have 3-time NBA All-Star Bradley Beal, 2018 NBA All-Star Kristaps Porziis, plus 2020 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member Rui Hachimura, who was taken during the first round of the NBA Draft for the first time in league history in 2019. Both the Warriors and the Wizards would be visiting Japan for the first time.

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