TOKYO – The National Basketball Association (NBA), Rakuten Group, Inc. (Rakuten) and Japanese automotive giant Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Nissan) today announced Nissan as co-presenting partner of The NBA Japan Games 2022, which will feature the 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards playing two preseason games on Friday, Sept. 30 and Sunday, Oct. 2 at Saitama Super Arena, marking the league’s 15^th and 16^th games in the country.

In addition to the two games, NBA Japan Games Saturday Night 2022 Presented by Rakuten & Nissan, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. at Saitama Super Arena, will celebrate the game of basketball and showcase the convergence of the NBA and popular culture for a unique fan experience.  The event will feature appearances by Warriors and Wizards players, NBA legends and special celebrity guests, as well as a slam dunk contest featuring professional dunkers, a Shooting Stars challenge, a three-point contest featuring players from the Warriors and Wizards, a musical performance by Japanese rock duo Yuzu, and more.

As co-presenting partner of the games and NBA Saturday Night, Nissan will receive in-venue and on-court branding and leverage its innovation to introduce a variety of fan activities to add excitement to the week’s events.  Nissan will also conduct a range of campaigns, including ticket giveaways and sweepstakes, giving fans the opportunity to serve as a court sweeper.  For more information on Nissan’s campaigns, fans can visit this dedicated website.

NBA Japan Games 2022 Presented by Rakuten & Nissan overview:

Dates: Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m.

Location: Saitama Super Arena (8 Shintoshin, Chuo-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan)

Website^*: https://nba.rakuten.co.jp/special/nbajapangames2022.html

NBA Japan Games Saturday Night 2022 Presented by Rakuten & Nissan overview:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 1 at 5:00 p.m.

Location: Saitama Super Arena (8 Shintoshin, Chuo-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan)

Ticket prices: Starting at 2,000 yen (tax included)

Ticket site^*: https://ticket.rakuten.co.jp/features/nbajapan2022/index.html/

The seven-time NBA champion Warriors, who recently won their fourth NBA championship in the last eight years, currently feature two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and 2022 Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry, five-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson, and 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and four-time NBA All-Star Draymond Green.  The Wizards currently feature three-time NBA All-Star Bradley Beal, 2018 NBA All-Star Kristaps Porziņģis and 2020 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member Rui Hachimura, who in 2019 became the first Japanese player in league history to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.  The Warriors and Wizards will both be making their first visits to Japan.

Between 1990 and 2003, the NBA staged 12 regular-season games in Japan in Saitama City, Tokyo and Yokohama.  The matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz in Tokyo on Nov. 2, 1990 marked the first regular-season game played outside of North America by a U.S. sports league.  The NBA last played games in Japan in 2019, when Rakuten and the NBA partnered to bring the Houston Rockets and the 2019 NBA champion Toronto Raptors to the country for two preseason games.

*Website is only available in Japanese.

About Nissan
Since its founding in 1933, Nissan has passionately created new value through technological innovation, delivering products that defy preconceived notions, with the will to “do what others don’t.”

Dedicated to enriching people’s lives and the experiences they have with their cars, Nissan is now extending its focus beyond mobility to provide new kinds of value to its customers, including new energy sources and automobile intelligence, resulting in electric vehicles and autonomous driving.

About Rakuten
Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society.  Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 1.6 billion members around the world.  The Rakuten Group has over 28,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

About the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2021-22 season featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.