MACAU: The National Basketball Association (NBA) made a historic return to China on Thursday, marking its first appearance in the country since 2019. The league announced a multi-year partnership with Chinese technology giant Alibaba and will stage two pre-season games in Macau this weekend — the first NBA games ever played in the world’s largest gambling hub.
The matches, set for Friday and Sunday, are part of a five-year deal with Las Vegas Sands’ Macau unit, Sands China. The NBA’s comeback follows a six-year hiatus triggered by controversy surrounding a social media post from then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, which led to Beijing suspending NBA broadcasts and major sponsors cutting ties.
By returning to China, where an estimated 300 million people play basketball, the NBA aims to rebuild its reputation and reconnect with its massive fan base amid ongoing U.S.-China tensions. “The China fans, I feel like are some of our biggest supporters,” Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. said at a press event in Macau. “Coming out here and being able to play in front of them is definitely a blessing for us and for them.”
