Struggling NBA Returns To Playing In China With Planned Games In Macao
The NBA is back to business in full swing with CCP-run China after kissing the proverbial ring.
Is the NBA's failing product forcing their hand to get in bed with the wrong folks?
NBA Returns To China in 2025 After Daryl Morey Incident
In a surprising development on Thursday, the NBA is reportedly planning a return to China after years of acrimony.
Two preseason games are scheduled to be played in Macao in October 2025.
Home to roughly 400 million NBA fans, China became a cash cow for the league in the 2000s. They enjoyed a good relationship until the league finally got on the CCP's nerves.
In 2019, NBA executive Daryl Morey spoke out in support of protests in Hong Kong.
HOUSTON, TX - JULY 26: General Manager Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets talk to the media during the Houston Rockets Introductory Press Conference on July 26, 2019 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
China's communist government was offended, which led to friction and kept NBA action from being hosted in China.
Daryl Morey's pro-democracy comments in support of the Beijing protests resulted in the Chinese government banning NBA broadcasts.
The ban on NBA games was eventually lifted, but China's retaliation reportedly cost the league $400 million in revenue.
Nearly six years later, the league is back in China's good graces.
NBA's Connection To China Remains Source of Scrutiny
Despite the hypocrisy that comes with catering to China, the NBA is doing its utmost to keep the Communist government in China happy.
READ: Brooklyn Nets Owner Says NBA 'In A Very Good Place' With China, Wants To Resume Playing Games There
"The NBA needs to stick to its principles rather than profit," one NBA fan commented on X.
Nets owner and Chinese billionaire Joe Tsai helped facilitate the mended association.
Tsai's Nets will travel to Macao to play the Phoenix Suns for two preseason games.
BEIJING - AUGUST 10: Fans in the stands cheer during the game between the United States and China during the day 2 preliminary game at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on August 10, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
"I think the NBA is in a very good place with respect to its relationship with China," Tsai previously said on the possibility for the NBA to return to China.
"China is actually the NBA’s biggest fan base. So what happened before, I think it’s water under the bridge."
The NBA's struggling product with American audiences needs all the help it can get.
Americans Aren't Interested In NBA in 2024
NBA ratings on ESPN have dipped 28 percent. As OutKick's Joe Kinsey wrote, the NBA is a failing sport for American sports fans based on the bad product on the floor.
Kinsey writes, "ESPN’s first-month ratings are down 7% compared to the 1.9 million viewers the network averaged during the 2016-17 season."
Players' tendency to hurl three-point shots rather than execute cohesive offensive plays has siphoned off much intrigue from the game.
The league also never recovered from its disastrous 2020 campaign.
The NBA's all-in approach to social justice backfired, and its relationship with China makes its efforts at virtue-signaling look pathetic.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver failed to recognize the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in China's Xinjiang region but wanted to lecture viewers about Black Lives Matter in 2020.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - JULY 31: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers kneels with teammates and coaches during the national anthem before the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on July 31, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The commissioner's player-friendly approach also encouraged a rise in ‘load management,’ which allows players to rest games despite being near full health.
The league desperately hopes for a rebound from the viewership blues. Adam Silver and the NBA braintrust are putting their future in the hands of China.
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