NBA has a major footprint all across the globe and has hosted games in various countries. One of those markets was China in the past. However, it has been absent from the world’s second biggest economy, as they cut ties with NBA in 2019. Now, they are set to set return to China with two games in their admistrative region close to Hong Kong, i. e Macau.
Why did NBA severe ties with China?
NBA teams Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will square off on the court on Friday and Sunday in Macau. This will be the first time they will host a game after six year years after executives stood behind Daryl Morey, who was the manager of the Houston Rockets back then. For almost 15 years, 17 teams played a total of 28 pre-season games in China. However, that came to an end in 2019 after Morey dropped an image that had the slogan “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong. “
Morey’s photo came at the heights of pro-democracy protests in the Chinese finance sector. Sports industry expert, Mark Dyer, stated that his actions was a perfect storm making the situation worse for both China and NBA’s relations. He said,
Furthermore, NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated that NBA lost millions after severing ties with China, which included matches being pulled from their local television.
Why is NBA making its return to China after six years?
According to offficial statistics, China has an esteemed NBA fanbase of 125 million people despite the league severing ties with the country. This could have been a potential reason for them to return to China. Another could be the US-China relations under the charge of US President, Donald Trump, with a lot of corporations in the country looking to tap into the Chinese consumer markets.
Furthermore, the popularity of NBA in China has seen significant growth since the first games that took place in the country in 1979. It reached unprecendented heights of popularity with the success of Yao Ming, who went on to become an eight-time NBA All Star.
The NBA broadcasts were resumed last year in China, which was followed by a multimillion-dollar agreement to host the aforementioned pre-season games in Macau, which sold out within a few hours as per NBA.
Mark Dyer also added that there was no doubt for the return of NBA to China, as it was one of their key markets. The new agreement will see them host two annual games for the next five years, as per Dyer himself. The upcoming matches are set to take place at the Venetian Arena, so it will be a must-watch sight not only for China, but fans across the world.
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