How NBA is deepening connections with Middle East basketball fans

Since bringing the National Basketball Association (NBA) Abu Dhabi Games to the region in 2022 and witnessing a successful third season in October, the league has ignited unprecedented excitement for basketball in the UAE and beyond.

Spearheading these efforts, George Aivazoglou, VP and head of Fan Engagement and Direct-to-Consumer at NBA Europe and Middle East, discusses the NBA’s strategic focus on youth programmes, fan engagement, and digital innovation that’s driving record growth across the Middle East.

As participation rises and viewership soars, the league’s mission to make Abu Dhabi a regional basketball hub is creating lasting opportunities for fans and players alike, laying the foundation for the sport’s future in the region.

 

The NBA Abu Dhabi Games have rapidly become one of the marquee events on the league’s international calendar. What was the initial vision behind bringing these games to Abu Dhabi, and how have you seen that vision evolve since it’s the initial season?

When we brought the first NBA games to Abu Dhabi in 2022, our goal was to have them catalyse basketball’s continued growth in the UAE and throughout the Middle East, where the game has a century-long history.  The preseason games became the tentpole moment of our year-round efforts to engage fans and players across the region, including through youth development programming like the Junior NBA Abu Dhabi League, interactive fan events, visits by NBA players and legends, and more.

We hoped that these initiatives would inspire more young boys and girls to learn and play the game, and that’s exactly what’s happened.  We’re beyond impressed by the growing interest and participation we’re seeing and excited about the future of basketball and the NBA in the region.

The NBA’s presence in the Middle East has seen incredible growth in the region. What do you believe has been the driving force behind this surge in interest, and how is the NBA capitalising on this growing passion for basketball in the UAE and surrounding regions?

I think it’s due to many factors, including bringing the live NBA experience to Abu Dhabi through preseason games, but also everything we’re doing to engage fans and players at all levels on a year-round basis. Since the first games in 2022, basketball participation in the UAE has grown by 60 per cent, and in the Middle East by more than 50 per cent.

We’ll capitalise on this momentum by continuing to create more opportunities for youth to play the game and fans to engage with the league, whether that’s by expanding our Junior NBA Abu Dhabi League which has reached more than 11,000 boys and girls since we launched it in 2022, refurbishing community basketball courts in collaboration with ADQ, creating localised, in-language content specifically geared to fans in the Middle East, and more.”

On the business side, the NBA has seen a 33 per cent increase in League Pass subscriptions in the region since last season. How important is this digital engagement for the NBA’s long-term strategy in the Middle East, and what other innovative business initiatives are you looking to explore in this market?

Incredibly important.  Ninety-nine per cent of our fans will never attend an NBA game, so we have to do everything we can to make the excitement of NBA accessible to fans on the devices and platforms they use most at a time that is convenient for them, including through localised, in-language content and more than 40 weekend games that will air in primetime in the region this season on beIN SPORTS and NBA League Pass.

We’re encouraged by the growth we see from a social and digital media perspective.  Last season, subscriptions to NBA League Pass, which is available in the Middle East through both the NBA App and Starzplay, grew by more than 30 per cent in the UAE and 25 per cent across the Middle East, while the 2024 finals were the most-watched finals ever in the Middle East on League Pass.  Our NBA Arabic social media channels across Instagram and X had the most-viewed season ever in the region for a professional US sports league.

We know that to continue to engage, serve and grow our international fanbase, we need to invest much of our energy into social and digital media, which is often our passionate international fanbase’s main touchpoint with the league.  Moving forward, I think you’ll continue to see us try to find new and creative ways to engage fans in the region through those channels, including by working more with local partners.

 

Beyond just the games themselves, events like NBA District and Fan Appreciation Day offer fans unique experiences. How do these off-court activations contribute to building a deeper connection between the NBA and its Middle Eastern audience, both from a fan and business perspective?

Events like NBA District and NBA Fan Appreciation Day provide additional touchpoints for fans who may or may not plan to attend the games as well as those who are interested in engaging with the NBA in different ways.

This year, thousands of fans attended NBA District over four days, where they were able to interact with legends of the game like Derek Fisher and Kevin Garnett, participate in immersive experiences and partner activations, play basketball on a full-size NBA court, purchase limited-edition NBA merchandise, and more.  And at NBA Fan Appreciation Day, fans were able to see Celtics and Nuggets players participate in a variety of on-court competitions interact with football legends like Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho and watch a live performance by US rap artist 2 Chainz.  These types of events have something for everyone, whether you’re a casual or hardcore fan of the game, or whether you’re more interested in the convergence of the NBA and pop culture.  So, events like this will continue to be an important part of everything we do to grow the game and our fanbase in the region.

 

With the continued success of the Abu Dhabi Games, do you foresee the possibility of expanding the NBA’s footprint in the Middle East with more regular-season games or perhaps other global events being hosted in the region? How does the NBA view the potential for the Middle East to become a hub for global basketball?

We want to play preseason games in Abu Dhabi for many years to come.  There’s no shortage of countries and regions around the world that want to host NBA games, but we can only play a limited number of these games each season due to the density of our schedule and the time it takes for teams to travel internationally.  But we do see Abu Dhabi becoming a hub for basketball, not just because of the NBA’s efforts but also because of initiatives like the USA Basketball Showcase that has been held there each of the past two years, the fact that the FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held in neighbouring Doha in 2027, and more.

Looking ahead, what are the NBA’s goals in the Middle East, not only in terms of increasing fan engagement but also in contributing to the development of local basketball talent and infrastructure, especially for young players in the region?

Enhancing and expanding youth basketball programming is core to our vision and efforts in the region.  We want to make it as easy as possible to be a fan of the NBA and provide as many opportunities as possible for young players in the region to learn and play the game.

Basketball is already the second most popular team sport in the Middle East, and our goal is to build on the incredible momentum we’re seeing in the years to come.