On March 15, Beijing time, the Warriors and Wizards jointly officially announced the preseason plans of the two teams for next season. They will travel to Japan for two pre-season matches on September 30 and October 2 at the Saitama Super Stadium in Japan, a heavyweight stadium with a capacity of 37,000 spectators.
This is the league's overseas preseason plan to re-launch after 3 years after the outbreak of the epidemic. At the same time, this is also the second time that Japan has ushered in the NBA's preseason game after a gap of 3 years. In the preseason of '19, the Rockets and Raptors played two games at the stadium. The Raptors were the defending champions at the time, and the team was home to Japanese player Yuta Watanabe. The Rockets have just traded Westbrook and formed a double MVP backcourt combination with Harden. The two matches caused a carnival of Japanese fans.
Both teams are of great significance to Japanese fans. The Wizards are home to Japanese player Yamura, who is a local Japanese goalkeeper and one of only two Japanese players in the active league. Hachimura, who is excited about the Wizards playing in his hometown, said he can't wait to see Japanese fans sit around the stadium and watch NBA games. Wizards star Bill expressed excitement about his trip to Japan's preseason.
One of the Warriors sponsors happens to be the Rakuten Group from Japan, which is believed to be an important reason for the team's trip to Japan. The team, which sits with curry and Clay's Splash brothers and All-Star players Dream Green and Wiggins, has been highly sought after overseas, and its popularity is even greater than that of home. Curry is also loved by Japanese fans, and his jersey sales have always been in the top 5 in Japan, and his popularity once overshadowed Hachimura. I believe that the scene will erupt into thunderous cheers for Curry and his teammates.
It is worth mentioning that although Japan has only cooperated with the NBA to hold preseason games for the first time since 19 years, Japan has had the experience of hosting NBA regular season games. Between 1990 and 2003, Japan held 12 regular season games in Tokyo, Saitama, Yokohama, and other places. This year's preseason will be the 15th and 16th NBA-level games in Japan.
Seeing the NBA restart its overseas preseason program, we can't help but sigh, when can we hold China again? Since the Lakers and Nets finished in China in Shanghai in 19 years, we have never seen an NBA player finish in our country. I hope that the epidemic will dissipate as soon as possible, and we can also usher in the China race again.
(Text/Yuwen Basketball)