NBA games in Las Vegas have become commonplace, so it only makes sense for the Vegas of Asia to get a similar treatment.
Macau will play host to two NBA pre-season games between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 9 and 11 next season as part of the NBA China Games 2026, the league announced Monday.
The games will be held at the Venetian Arena, which hosted the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns in 2025 as part of the league's China Games. It will be the third time Macau plays host to international NBA games.
“The games in Macau earlier this season showed how much passion and enthusiasm there is for the NBA among fans in China and across Asia," NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in a press release. "We look forward to welcoming the Mavericks and Rockets to Macau."
The NBA has made a routine of playing a couple pre-season games abroad, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. Along with the two games in Macau last year, the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers opened pre-season with two showdowns in Abu Dhabi, and the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat squared off in Puerto Rico.
However, the league has never played a regular-season game in China. Three games will be played abroad this year, with the Mavericks and Detroit Pistons having already played in Mexico City on Nov. 1, and in the coming weeks, the Magic and Memphis Grizzlies playing in Berlin on Jan. 15 and London on Jan. 18.
Next season, a game will be played in Manchester, and in 2028, the league will return to Paris. The teams partaking in the games have not yet been announced.
