After six years of tension due to a politically charged controversy, the NBA and China will reconnect: This Friday and Sunday, two franchises from the world’s top basketball league will face off on Chinese soil.
Specifically, the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will face off at The Venetian Arena in Macao. The games are part of the NBA preseason.
From 2004 to 2019, 28 NBA preseason games were played in China. In 2019, the country severed commercial and sponsorship ties with the NBA after Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted in support of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Numerous NBA officials supported Morey, further escalating tensions and leading the Chinese government to sever all agreements with the league.
Years after the controversy, China and the NBA agreed to resume relations, largely due to the league’s popularity in the country. In 2024, a deal was signed to bring the games back to Chinese television, and it was also agreed that they would once again be played in China.