It had been a rumor, almost a certainty, for months. A possible friendly between Real Madrid and the Dallas Mavericks with which to see Luka Doncic again on the track where he grew up, where he achieved his first successes and began to carve out a career that is on the way to being legendary. Well, the rumor has taken shape.
It will be on Tuesday, October 10 at the WiZink Center. Although the game has not been officially announced by the NBA, the Mavs did confirm it at an event this week. The Texan team had already been confirmed as one of those that will play preseason games outside the United States this summer. Specifically, it was known that he is going to travel to the United Arab Emirates, with whom the NBA has an agreement to host this type of match. Last year the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks played two games at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Now the Mavs will be one of the two teams chosen and, taking advantage of the trip to the Middle East, they will stop in the capital of Spain.
The WiZink, with a maximum capacity for 17,000 spectators, will host an NBA preseason game for the first time since 2016, when the Oklahoma City Thunder visited Madrid. On that occasion, the Whites prevailed over their rival in a spectacular game that was resolved in extra time (137-142). Doncic already played a few minutes during that match, which caught him still quite young, at 16 years old. But already then he was one of the greatest promises in the history of the Madrid youth academy.
The Slovenian will return to play in Madrid for the first time since 2018, when he went to the NBA after winning the ACB League and the Euroleague, being MVP in both competitions. But before the October game, the Spanish fans will be able to see Doncic live in our country. It will be during the tournament organized by the FEB, which will serve both as preparation for the Basketball World Cup and as a celebration of its centenary, and which will take place on August 11, 12 and 13 at the MartÃn Carpena in Malaga. There the Spanish National Team will meet together with the United States and Slovenia, in a triangular match of the highest level.