Just last month, China’s official Communist Party newspaper, People’s Daily, ran an opinion column that appeared to be written by none other than basketball superstar LeBron James. The article lauded basketball as a cultural connector between nations. The catch? LeBron James didn’t actually write it.
During a trip to China, James had spoken with local reporters. The newspaper then transformed his remarks into an essay, attributing authorship to him. Appearing as the writer of a piece in People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling party, carries significant weight. It implied that James was publicly endorsing Beijing’s agenda amidst strained relations with Washington.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver viewed this as a clear breach of journalistic ethics. In his initial comments on the controversy to The New York Times, Silver stated that “taking words somebody said and then making it seem as a first-person Op-Ed would not be appropriate.”
The reaction in America was immediate and intense. Many believed James had genuinely authored the opinion piece. Conservative pundits accused him of allowing Beijing to exploit his celebrity to improve the image of its authoritarian regime. One online publication even claimed the NBA was “groveling to the communists.”
This incident served as a potent reminder of the treacherous political landscape the league navigates as it makes its highly anticipated return to China following a six-year hiatus.
The Brooklyn Nets were scheduled to face the Phoenix Suns in Macau on Sunday night, marking the second of two preseason games. These matchups are the culmination of years of dedicated work by the league, with significant efforts from casino mogul and team owner Patrick Dumont, all aimed at re-establishing the NBA’s presence in the critical Chinese market.
However, China also has strategic reasons for welcoming the NBA back. The Chinese government has been actively trying to stimulate an economy where consumer spending has remained sluggish.
According to Crystal Wang, a Chinese sports expert at Deloitte in Shanghai, Beijing intends to leverage sports and major international events to “boost overall consumption,” indicating a top-down directive.
State media reports suggest that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has a personal fondness for basketball, reportedly having played pickup games during his time as a local official in Hebei Province.
The government in Beijing is keen for the league to portray China as an open and inviting nation. To achieve this, it has enlisted athletes, academics, and public figures to foster “people-to-people” connections, hoping to mitigate the anti-China sentiment present across the American political spectrum.
Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, for example, referenced what he presented as James’s opinion piece in People’s Daily, stating on a social media platform: “It’s heartening to see sports are bringing our people closer.”
Basketball enjoys immense popularity in China, which significantly boosts the value of NBA stars in the market. However, this popularity also forces players to navigate a very delicate balance between their athletic careers and complex political considerations.
The NBA has a history of missteps in this regard. In 2019, Daryl Morey, then the general manager of the Houston Rockets, posted a tweet supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. This, combined with the league’s decision not to penalize Morey, led to the NBA being banned from China for several years, resulting in over $300 million in lost revenue.
Despite past controversies, NBA athletes who have visited China since the incident have continued to discover a highly lucrative market.
James Harden, the Los Angeles Clippers star who had previously criticized Morey and expressed admiration for China, even suggesting a potential move, has seen immense rewards from Chinese fans. In 2023 alone, he sold 10,000 bottles of his personal wine brand within seconds during a Chinese livestream event.
Similarly, when Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors visited western China in August, he was welcomed with an elaborate drone show, funded by a local tourism board, which featured a visual of him high-fiving a panda.
Terry Rhoads, a Shanghai-based sports consultant instrumental in establishing the NBA’s market in China during his time at Nike, emphasized that players are well aware of the need to avoid political topics. He explained, “Every single NBA player that comes out to China is being briefed on, ‘Hey, we’re out there to have fun. We’re out there to get the kids loving basketball.'”
Silver stated that China imposed no restrictions on speech before the NBA’s return. However, the potential consequences of displeasing China remain starkly evident.
This delicate situation creates a double-edged sword: American players also face scrutiny and criticism at home if they appear too aligned with Beijing, as illustrated by the recent LeBron James controversy with People’s Daily.
Adam Mendelsohn, an adviser to James, attempted to downplay the incident, asserting that the media had “incorrectly characterized” the piece as an opinion essay authored by the basketball star.
However, People’s Daily explicitly identified James as the essay’s author and actively promoted it on its official social media channels with the headline: “LeBron James Writes in People’s Daily.”
It’s not the first time James has faced accusations of pandering to China. In 2019, he drew criticism for his remarks about Morey’s tweet.
At that time, he commented, “So many people could have been harmed not only financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative that comes with that, too.”