In what has become an annual tradition, the Miami Heat will be hitting the road during the preseason and taking their talents to non-NBA cities.
Last year, the Heat squared off against Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans for a sold-out preseason game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and they will be returning Oct. 7 to take on in-state rival Orlando Magic.
"The Miami Heat are only able to play one preseason game away from their home arena and they chose the KFC Yum! Center," arena general manager Dennis Petrullo said in a news release. "It's a huge testament to the fans and the city of Louisville that such an impressive professional basketball team wanted to come back and play here again."
Miami faced off against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, to play the Golden State Warriors as part of their preseason schedule last year.
Neither the Heat nor the Magic have any players with Kentucky ties on their rosters, but both teams hold lottery picks for next month's NBA Draft. University of Kentucky star Karl-Anthony Towns figures to be long gone by the time the Magic make their selection at No. 5, but teammates Devin Booker, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Trey Lyles are all potential lottery picks and could be in play for Orlando or Miami, which holds the No. 10 pick.
You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.
