Cavs taking training camp on road again, this time all the way to Spain

The Cavaliers are going away for training camp again. Way away this time.

The team announced Wednesday that it will hold its 2026 training camp in Málaga, Spain, from Sept. 30 through Oct. 5, taking it to the Costa del Sol for the official start of preparations for the season.

Camp will be held at The Embassy in Andalusia, a basketball training facility in Fuengirola that was designed by former Spanish national team players Berni Rodríguez and José Calderón. Calderón, of course, also works for the Cavs.

This continues an interesting trend under coach Kenny Atkinson. It will be Atkinson’s third training camp with Cleveland. All three have been held somewhere other than Cleveland, with the Cavs spending the previous two in Florida.

Clearly, Atkinson and the organization see some value in getting the players away from home and together. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

Other NBA teams have done the same, including holding camps in Hawaii, and the idea of leaving the everyday surroundings behind for a week of basketball and team bonding is hardly new. Spain, though, is taking it to another level.

“Training camp is where the foundation for a season is built,” president of basketball operations Koby Altman said, adding that the Cavs believe the setting will allow the team to “prepare, connect and build the habits and chemistry” needed for the season.

The Cavs also cited privacy as one of the advantages of the location. They should get plenty of it. After all, sending the team roughly 4,000 miles from Cleveland probably means the usual collection of local reporters won’t exactly be pulling into the parking lot every morning. The Cavs say the daily schedule and media availability plans will be announced later.

Now, before everyone grabs their passports, the team will hold Media Day on Sept. 28 at Rocket Arena. Then it’s off to Spain. Apparently, when Atkinson talks about getting away for training camp, he means it.