After six long years of political tension, the US National Basketball Association (NBA) has finally returned to China. The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns took the stage at the Venetian Arena in Macao since 2007, symbolizing a strategic re-entry to international standoffs.
It began in 2019 with a singular tweet from the Rockets executive supporting pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong – what followed was a clampdown: broadcast cancellations, lost sponsorships and inaccessibility for billions of fans. Despite the fallout basketball remained a prominent sport in China with 300 million people actively playing.
NBA China soared after Chinese icon Yao Ming joined it in 2002, creating a bridge between the East and West of the world. For 28 year old Yun Hui, getting to watch the NBA that weekend was like reconnecting with an old friend.
Star guests like Yao Ming, Jackie Chan and Jack Ma demonstrated the league’s renewed relevance in the region. Former NBA players like Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion joined, showing loyalty to Chinese fans through autographs and photos. In fact, the figures’ media presence underscores how crucial the market for NBA China is – as ESPN valued NBA China at $5 billion in 2022.
The NBA also announced a new partnership with the Chinese Basketball Association including development of programs and pathways for top talent to enter the league pipeline. However, the timing is not accidental – these games and relations follow a major partnership signed late 2024 between NBA and Alibaba (a Chinese multinational technology company that operates e-commerce marketplaces) to regain the league’s presence in China.
The organization did not just return — it recalibrated global sports and spoke volume in cultural and political conflict of interest. For students studying sports marketing or international business, this is a real-world example of crisis recovery and brand diplomacy. Though tensions remain between the US and China, this moment signals progress in how much power sports holds in the public sphere.
