Veteran three-point specialist chooses Dubai over NBA

Bertans is headed for Dubai BC, a brand-new basketball team set to play in the AdmiralBet ABA league. The 6-foot-10 Latvian small forward spent last season with the Charlotte Hornets, the last guaranteed year of a five-year, $69.25M contract he signed in 2020. Bertans earned the deal after averaging 15.4 points and shooting 42.4% from three-point range, but his scoring and playing time quickly plunged.

Charlotte waived Bertans earlier this summer, paying out only the guaranteed $5.25M on his deal. He was looking at a likely training camp invite from the Warriors, but Bertans opted for the guaranteed money and years from the United Arab Emirates team. Reportedly, the deal also includes clauses that would let Bertans eventually return to the NBA.

The NBA remains the world’s preeminent basketball league, but this deal shows that well-funded teams are popping up all over the world. Dubai B.C. is owned by Abdulla Saeed Al Naboodah, who has been chairman of the UAE soccer club Al Ahli, as well as an important figure in bringing golf to the Gulf region.

Dubai BC is so intent on bringing top-tier basketball to the region that they’re paying the other members of the ABA, otherwise made up of teams from the former Yugoslavia, 2.5 million pounds and covering their travel expenses. There’s a great deal of money in UAE sovereign wealth funds, one reason the NBA is playing preseason games in Dubai. So far, sovereign wealth funds are only allowed to own five percent stakes in NBA teams, but the league can change its rules at any point.

Bertans may have more value to a Middle Eastern team trying to legitimize their sports program than he does to any NBA team. With Qatar buying into the Washington Wizards ahead of hosting the 2027 FIBA World Cup, Bertans is likely only the first in a growing wave of players heading to the Middle East.