ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- It's a few minutes before tipoff in the first NBA game of any sort in the 2025-26 season and the basketball court inside Etihad Arena is overflowing with training camp-sized rosters of Knicks and 76ers players and officials.
On the sideline, Patrick Ewing is shaking hands with a man from Beirut who is wearing a vintage No. 33 Knicks jersey. Derrick Rose, who was flown in for the event, is posing for photos with a group of Filipino fans.
Steve Harvey and Patrick Schwarzenegger, among other invited celebrities, are being escorted to courtside seats.