Mavs and Timberwolves play in Abu Dhabi as Gulf region’s influence with the NBA grows
By KEN MAGUIRE
AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP) — The NBA returns to Abu Dhabi this week. The Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves play Thursday in the first of two preseason games in the United Arab Emirates capital. But most of the action is taking place off the court. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is buying a minority stake of the Washington Wizards after the league’s Board of Governors opened the door to such institutional investors. LeBron James recently visited Saudi Arabia on a trip that came a couple of months after he joked on social media that he’d accept the kind of astronomical figures that the Saudis are paying to lure soccer stars.