Macao SAR government tourism office

The National Basketball Association (NBA), one of US' most successful sporting exports, is set to stage two preseason match-ups between the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets at the Venetian Hotel in China's Macao Special Administrative Region on Friday and Sunday, which according to the AP report on Thursday will mark the first games played in China since 2019. 

While the US media widely celebrate the events as preludes to the NBA's official comeback to the Chinese market, Chinese observers cautioned that the US sports league needs to learn from the 2019 Morey incident and avoid a repeat of the 2019 debacle and the Macao games would only be a test run for the reconnection. 

Both games sold out within a few hours, the NBA said, AFP reported on Wednesday. 

The two match-ups were officially named NBA China Games, per the NBA official website. According to Reuters, a total of 17 NBA teams played 28 games in China between 2004 and 2019.

The NBA and Sands China first announced a multiyear collaboration to bring NBA China Games to Macao, beginning in 2025, per an official release by the NBA in October 2024, which immediately drew wide attention.

Mark Dreyer, the author of a book on China's sports industry, told AFP that NBA's return was never in doubt because China was a "key market." "It's a smart move to go to Macao because it's a soft landing," he said.

Dreyer added that the NBA will manage to avoid a repeat of the 2019 debacle. "Everyone was aware of how badly the league was burned in China. No one's going to deliberately stir the pot," he said.

"I think it's very important for us to be able to bring the live game experience, including live games, to as many fans of the NBA around the world," NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum was quoted by the AP as saying in the Thursday report. 

"And there's no doubt that China has one of the largest fanbases in the world — hundreds of millions of fans in China, 300 million people play the game of basketball in China, and our mission is to inspire and connect people everywhere through the game of basketball," Tatum said.

Fu Zhenghao, a Beijing-based basketball commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday that the NBA China Games being held in Macao are indeed a test run for the return of the NBA to China. Macao's unique status allows for greater flexibility in hosting NBA games, as it is a purely commercial event, he said.

Although the NBA is hugely popular in China, a single tweet by then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey triggered a widespread backlash. In October 2019, Morey posted on Twitter a slogan used by Hong Kong rioters at the time, quickly attracting the ire of Chinese people and NBA fans. His message was seen as an insult to Chinese people and led to lost sponsorships, suspended broadcasts and hundreds of millions in losses.

The Morey incident brought significant controversy to the NBA, which needs to learn its lesson and make greater contributions to cultural exchanges between China and the US, Fu noted. 

The NBA has long been an important bridge for cultural exchange between the peoples of China and the US. At a time when bilateral relations are at a critical juncture, the NBA's engagement with China remains one of the most high-profile cultural exchange channels. Both sides should make full use of basketball's role as a means of communication to promote stronger exchanges between two countries, Fu added.

CNN reported Wednesday that the Chinese market offers vast potential, especially at a time when the league is exploring opportunities beyond its domestic fanbase. The NBA's TV ratings in the US have declined slightly over recent years. The report highlighted that the Chinese market is simply "too big to walk away." The report described that the reconnecting of the US sports league with China is like "walking on eggshells," and Paul Argenti, professor of corporate communication at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, told CNN that NBA's comeback is a masterclass in how to navigate the Chinese market amid intensifying geopolitical tensions.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver previously said the league lost "hundreds of millions of dollars" in revenue following the fallout with China, with which it had long maintained ties. 

The value of NBA China, the arm of the league that manages operations in the Greater China region, is estimated at about $5 billion, according to an analysis commissioned by ESPN in 2022, CNN reported.

"China is the NBA's most important market outside of the US, with hundreds of millions of fans, huge media rights sponsorship potential," said Argenti. "Walking away is never going to be a long-term option."

Some of the biggest names in the league have already moved ahead to reconnect with their Chinese fans in person. LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokić toured China this summer.

NBA players are also appearing on a range of Chinese social media platforms - from the X-like Weibo to Douyin - to share snippets of their lives and maximize their exposure to Chinese fans, CNN reported.

Adding to hopes for renewed ties with Chinese fans and market potential, Yang Hansen, a 7-foot-1 Chinese center, was drafted in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers in June, making him the third Chinese player to be selected in the first round after Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.

"One thing that I noticed this summer, and I've been with the team almost 13 years, we were No. 1 in the league in social media rankings in July during Summer League, which I've never seen before," Trail Blazers President Dewayne Hankins said. "And a lot of that was due to the incredible audience that Yang Hansen brings to us."  

The NBA China and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba also announced a multi-year partnership on Thursday.

Su Qun, another well-known Chinese basketball commentator, noted that because Beijing forward Zeng Fanbo has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Nets, he is likely to play in the Macao games. 

The NBA is, after all, a commercial league, and China adheres to a policy of reform and opening-up. Therefore, our open market and the NBA share mutual respect. In a sense, the NBA's ability to continue promoting itself in China symbolizes our enduring commitment to opening-up, Su noted.