NBA set to make notable return to China

Jun 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver talks to media before game one of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Tensions have finally thawed between China and the National Basketball Association.

Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Thursday that the NBA is set to return to China next October for the first time since 2019. The return will be taking place in Macao when the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns play two preseason games against each other there.

Charania characterizes the NBA’s return to China as “the culmination of a yearslong process” between the two sides to repair their relationship.

The trouble began in Oct. 2019 when NBA executive Daryl Morey, who was then the general manager of the Houston Rockets and is now the president of the Philadelphia 76ers, sent a tweet supporting the protests against the Chinese government taking place in Hong Kong at the time (details here). The NBA and commissioner Adam Silver gave multiple statements about Morey’s post, one of which supported Morey’s right to free speech. That angered China and resulted in a blistering response to Silver via Chinese state media in which they said that the league would face “retribution.”

The NBA has historically done massive business in China, creating an awkward situation that saw star players like LeBron James criticize Morey for his actions and coaches like Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich fail to openly support Morey (though some other prominent NBA figures did notably have Morey’s back). At one point, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV even banned the NBA from their public airwaves, further exacerbating tensions.

But things had been trending towards a detente in recent years with CCTV eventually lifting its ban on NBA games and NBA executives even getting caught on leaked audio saying that they did not want to upset China. Now the cold war between the NBA and China is officially set to end when the league finally returns to Chinese soil in Oct. 2025.