The last two teams to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy – the 2023 champion Nuggets and 2024 champion Celtics – arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and will tip off the 2024-25 preseason on Friday (12 ET, NBA App) with the first of two games in the UAE.

After a grueling first week of training camp, Joe Mazzulla’s squad traveled to Abu Dhabi, where it will face the 2023 champs, the Denver Nuggets, in a pair of preseason games at Etihad Arena. The first tips off at noon ET on Friday, with the second following at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday.

The reigning NBA champions will take on the franchise that won the ring in 2023 at the Etihad Arena. Newly crowned 18-time NBA champions, Boston Celtics, will face off against 2023 champions Denver Nuggets in a preseason match on Friday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.