Warriors Announce Japan Games and Preseason Schedule
The Golden State Warriors announced their preseason schedule this morning, a slew of five games with two taking place in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena, and the final three taking place at Chase Center in San Francisco, a preseason homecourt advantage for the most recent NBA champions.
Per Warriors PR, the two games in Japan against the Wizards will be 15th and 16th games ever played in the country, the first for both the Wizards and Warriors, in a series hosted by Warriors sponsor Rakuten. Golden State is no strangers to the international stage, however, as they’ve historically played eight games outside of North America as a part of the NBA’s Global Games initiative. The Japan Games 2022 presented by Rakuten will be their 9th and 10th appearances internationally, with the last games coming in 2017 when they played two in China.
These games will all be later in the fall, and the team will travel to Japan a week after training camp starts on September 24th. The Warriors training camp roster will include some Summer League standouts like Mac McClung and Quinndary Weatherspoon, along with other players who are set to play the preseason games battling for the final roster spots. The preseason will prove to be a good litmus test for flashes of potential or possible limitations with the new roster. There’s plenty of uncertainty around the team in terms of rotation and roles, which should fill out by the end of camp and preseason.
The international games in specific will be not only a good audition for a lot of the training camp guys, but also an excellent opportunity for fans of the NBA and the Warriors who aren’t based in Japan. The league has made it a priority to grow the game globally, and the enthusiasm which this year’s Japan Games has been met with is reflective of their efforts. It will be a great opportunity for international fans to watch the champs fresh off of their most recent run.
The preseason schedule points to the 2022-2023 season kicking off at its regularly-scheduled time of late October, as will the finalization of rosters. From there, the path to the title defense begins anew.
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