JAPAN (AP) – Stephen Curry is heading back to Japan, Rui Hachimura is going home and the NBA is planning to take another step toward normalcy.

The NBA announced Monday night that Golden State and Washington will be headed to Saitama, Japan for the first two games of the 2022 preseason schedule.

The Warriors will play two 2022 preseason games in Japan against the Wizards as part of the NBA Japan Games 2022. The Warriors and Wizards will face off on Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 at Saitama Super Arena, marking the first Japan visit for both teams.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) March 15, 2022

The Warriors and Wizards will play there on Sept. 30 and Oct. 2.

Those will be the first games for the NBA outside of North America since Jan. 24, 2020, when Milwaukee and Charlotte met in Paris for a regular season game about six weeks before the global pandemic began.