After a six-year hiatus, the NBA has officially returned to China with two preseason games between the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns set to take place in Macau. The league’s comeback follows a period of strained relations triggered by a 2019 social media post supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, which caused China to suspend ties with the NBA.
The 2019 controversy began when a team executive expressed solidarity with Hong Kong protesters, sparking outrage among Chinese authorities and fans. The fallout led to the suspension of NBA broadcasts in China and cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. Despite the backlash, the NBA maintained its stance on freedom of expression, though it has since taken a more cautious approach in navigating sensitive political issues.
The return to China underscores the league’s recognition of the country’s importance as a key global market. China is home to an estimated 125 million basketball players and millions more fans, many of whom continued to follow the sport through unofficial channels even during the ban. The NBA’s popularity in China dates back to 1979, with the momentum greatly boosted by the rise of Yao Ming, whose success helped build a massive Chinese fanbase.
This year’s games, scheduled at the Venetian Arena in Macau, sold out within hours—a sign of the enduring passion for the sport among Chinese fans. The choice of Macau, the only region in China where casino gambling is legal, is seen as a strategic “soft landing” for the league as it seeks to rebuild its presence without rekindling political controversy.
Experts believe the NBA has learned valuable lessons from its previous missteps and will avoid politically sensitive issues that could reignite tensions. While U.S.-China relations remain uncertain, the return of NBA games is being viewed as a sign of thawing commercial and cultural exchanges between the two nations.
For many fans in China, basketball remains more than just a sport—it’s a shared passion that bridges cultures. As one supporter put it, politics should stay out of the game, allowing sports to unite people rather than divide them. The NBA’s re-entry into the Chinese market represents not only a commercial revival but also an opportunity to rebuild mutual understanding through the universal language of basketball.
