Brooklyn Nets Owner Says NBA 'In A Very Good Place' With China, Wants To Resume Playing Games There
The NBA hasn't played a game in China since 2019. But according to Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai, that's could soon change.
Tsai — who was born in Taiwan and has been influential in the league's relationship with China over the years — said the NBA is "in a very good place" with China.
(Getty Images)
But that certainly wasn't the case just a few years ago.
In 2019, Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted in support of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. The Chinese government responded by pulling NBA games off state-sponsored TV and forcing Chinese companies to halt sponsorships with the league.
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China is home to 300 million NBA fans, and commissioner Adam Silver said in 2021 that the falling out had cost the league around $400 million that year.
"I think the NBA is in a very good place with respect to its relationship with China," Tsai said. "China is actually the NBA’s biggest fan base. So what happened before, I think it’s water under the bridge."
(Kyrie Irving tours China after signing an endorsement deal with Chinese sportswear brand ANTA / Getty Images)
The NBA Bows Down To China
Since the tiff, the league has desperately tried to repair its relationship with the communist country — even sending players to tour the country on glorified PR trips. And in 2022, Chinese TV resumed broadcasting the games.
"I have to say, the NBA is in the first class ... [because], you know, the players being exposed in China for so long," said Yao Ming, former NBA player and current president of the Chinese Basketball Association. "The players, the teams [are] all still very well welcome in China."
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But NBA teams haven't actually played in China since Morey angered the CCP on Twitter.
(Andy Marlette)
Tsai — whose Nets were the most recent team to play there — said the NBA would "love" to bring the games back to China and Macau.
"I think just having the fans have real, in-person sort of interaction with the stars. I think that's going to be important," Tsai said.
Of course, it's important — a friendly relationship with China means billions of dollars in revenue for the NBA. Never mind those pesky human rights violations.