The National Basketball Association (NBA) is making a comeback in China, with games scheduled this week for the first time since 2019. The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will play two pre-season matches in Macau, a special administrative region known for its casinos, at the Venetian resort.
This return comes six years after China effectively halted NBA activities in the country. The disruption was triggered when an NBA manager expressed support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, a former British colony that has since seen a crackdown on civil liberties. Beijing considers such actions necessary for maintaining order.
The NBA views these games as a strategic move to connect with its growing fanbase in China. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver highlighted the immense interest in the league within the country. In 2022, the NBA China operations were valued at approximately $5 billion, underscoring the market’s importance.
Basketball’s surge in popularity in China can be largely attributed to the drafting of Chinese player Yao Ming by the Houston Rockets in 2002. By 2019, the NBA estimated that 300 million people in China actively played the sport.
The return of NBA games signals a gradual thawing of relations between the league and China, occurring amidst broader trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The NBA’s broadcasting and streaming in China were suspended following the Daryl Morey incident, where the manager of the Houston Rockets tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters. Despite Morey’s subsequent backtracking and the NBA’s acknowledgement of Chinese fan sentiment, the fallout led to a significant freeze in league activities.
Since that period, NBA games have slowly reappeared on Chinese television.
Chinese fans have eagerly awaited this return. “We’d been preparing and planning for this two months in advance,” shared Lyu Yizhe from Xiamen, reflecting on the long wait since the Michael Jordan era. Mole Zeng from Hangzhou expressed optimism for future engagement, stating, “I believe that in the future, as the NBA continues to grow in China, more and more star players will come here to meet us in person.”
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