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As the calendar moves away from the frantic sports equinox, the NBA stands to gain more attention for its early season action with its annual trip to Mexico.
On Saturday, the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards will play in Mexico City as the NBA once again hosts a regular season game south of the border, this time during one of Mexico’s major holidays, “Día de los Muertos” (“Day of the Dead”).
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For people unfamiliar with the holiday, having a basketball game take place then may seem odd if the only takeaway is the word “dead,” but in fact the holiday is as vibrant and festive as any globally. “It’s different than how we celebrate this day around the world,” Arnon de Mello, managing director of NBA Canada and Latin America, said in a video interview. “To Mexico, (‘Day of the Dead’) is really a celebration. It’s a happy day, so it’s going to be great to marry that to this great experience of an NBA game in town.”
The league’s connection to Mexico goes all the way back to 1992 with regular preseason contests hosted in Mexico City and Monterrey, and apart from seasons impacted by COVID-19, the league has hosted at least one regular season game at Arena CDMX (Mexico City Arena) since the 2014-15 season.
Washington will play its fourth game in the country while Miami will be playing in its third. Jaime Jaquez Jr., the Heat forward who was born in Irvine, Calif., has dual citizenship in both the U.S. and Mexico and played for the Mexican national team during the 2019 Pan American Games.
In addition to having a major rotational player with Mexican heritage on the court, Saturday will be special because the game is being played on the holiday for the first time. Raul Zarraga, the league’s head of operations in Mexico, said that there will be some surprises for the fans in observance of the day, including a special designed court, akin to what the Association has rolled out for its NBA Cup. “Now we are doing our own version, and that’s what’ll be the main creative flag for the fans, to build this cultural concept with the fan base,” he said.
The annual game…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-annual-mexico-city-game-120000434.html
Author : Sportico
Publish date : 2024-11-02 12:00:00
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