The National Basketball Association (NBA) is making a high-profile return to the Greater China region this weekend, staging two pre-season games in Macau that signify a substantial thaw in the league’s relationship with the Chinese Basketball Association and Chinese broadcasters.
The Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns are scheduled to contest two highly anticipated, sold-out matches in Macau on Friday and Sunday. The Friday night game will hold particular significance, as it marks the first time an NBA side has played on Chinese soil since the pivotal year of 2019.
Historically, the NBA Global Games in China were a regular feature, occurring semi-regularly from 2004 onwards, resulting in 28 pre-season matches played across the country.
This tradition was abruptly halted in 2019 following a controversial tweet from Daryl Morey, who was then the General Manager for the Houston Rockets. Morey’s social media post, which expressed support for the anti-government demonstrations taking place in Hong Kong, triggered a widespread and severe outcry in China.
This reaction ultimately led to the cessation of the collaborative relationship between the NBA and the Chinese Basketball Association.
The financial fallout from the rift was immediate and considerable. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver publicly acknowledged that the political split resulted in the league losing “hundreds of millions of dollars,” particularly after Chinese broadcasters initially responded by imposing a blackout, refusing to air any NBA matches.
Over time, however, the broadcasts returned to Chinese television, and tensions had sufficiently subsided by the last year to enable the league to secure a new, multi-million-dollar deal to host the current matches.
Both of this weekend’s high-profile games are scheduled to be played at the Venetian Arena, a venue owned by Las Vegas Sands.
The connection runs deeper, as the Adelson family, who hold a majority ownership stake (more than 50%) in Sands, are also the majority owners of the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise.
In a related development underscoring a strategic shift, Las Vegas Sands recently announced the closure of its short-lived digital unit, reaffirming the company’s renewed focus on substantial investment in its traditional, land-based operations across its core Asian markets.
In anticipation of the games and to capitalize on the renewed engagement, a new flagship NBA store has also opened its doors at The Londoner Macau.
