Hong Kong
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As quickly as he realized the NBA was returning to China, diehard fan Buke Liu scrambled to get his fingers on tickets, paying virtually a thousand {dollars} – a worth you may anticipate for an NBA Finals recreation – for a ticket to a preseason match-up.
One of America’s most profitable sporting exports, the NBA is massively standard in China, and a uncommon cultural touchpoint between two nations more and more seen as geopolitical rivals.
For Liu, and plenty of Chinese followers, it’s been a protracted wait to go to a recreation. NBA groups, full of international stars, have successfully been banned from setting foot in considered one of basketball’s largest overseas markets since 2019, following a political firestorm that drew the ire of Beijing.
And the pent-up demand has made seats at this weekend’s Phoenix Suns – Brooklyn Nets preseason matches significantly onerous to come by. The groups play on Friday and Sunday at The Venetian Hotel in Macao, the glitzy playing hub in southern China identified for its casino-powered leisure.
Liu forked out $980 to a scalper for his seat at the Sunday recreation and entry to fan actions. Tickets to see the similar groups face one another in Phoenix for the Suns’ house recreation in January are on sale for as little as $15, however the college scholar has no regrets about paying prime greenback for his tickets.
“It’s worth it. They are playing in China,” the Suns fan advised NCS. “I am very happy about the return of the NBA China games because it allows (Chinese) fans … to watch the games in person.”
The return, after a six-year absence, packs extra than simply fanfare: it bears symbolic significance. In 2019, a social media post from then Houston Rockets basic supervisor Daryl Morey in help of Hong Kong protesters angered Beijing, culminating in televised video games being pulled and sponsors in China severing ties with the league.
While NBA video games have progressively returned to state-owned tv and business actions have slowly trickled again over the years, Chinese followers having the ability to see gamers in particular person as soon as once more marks the end result of the comeback.
Ticketing income, merchandise gross sales and sponsorship alternatives, backed by a large fanbase which spends large with out batting an eyelid, are what the NBA stands to acquire from its return to the nation, the place basketball is booming amongst its inhabitants of 1.4 billion, specialists and insiders inform NCS.
On Thursday, NBA and Chinese tech big Alibaba introduced a multi-year partnership to improve fan experiences with the latter’s synthetic intelligence and cloud computing companies, a day forward of the preseason recreation in Macao.
But better alternatives additionally include better dangers, Paul Argenti, professor of company communication at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, advised NCS, cautioning that the NBA will now have to tread rigorously to keep away from the tiniest misstep.
“It’s a thaw, but it’s also a test of how far the NBA and Chinese authorities are willing to rebuild ties,” he mentioned.
Tapping into the vastly profitable Chinese market and taking part in by Beijing’s guidelines generally is a perilous tightrope for worldwide manufacturers, like the NBA – particularly when it comes to points that conflict with their company values.
“One misstep by a player or a coach, (an) offhand remark like the one Daryl (Morey) made, could reignite those tensions,” mentioned Argenti.
The Chinese market has a lot to supply, particularly at a time when the league is exploring alternatives past the fanbase again house. The NBA’s TV rankings in the US have declined barely over latest years – although, in accordance to the league, Game 7 of the 2025 Finals collection recorded the largest TV viewers for a single Finals recreation in six years.
David Carter, adjunct professor at USC Marshall School of Business, advised NCS that the international market may be “vital” for rising income.
“Any concentrated focus on China, one that is successfully positioned and rolled out, should enable the NBA to drive this revenue and franchise value growth,” he mentioned.
The NBA’s reputation in China exploded after Yao Ming was drafted by the Houston Rockets as the No. 1 choose in 2002. Before the 2019 fallout, practically 500 million individuals, greater than a 3rd of China’s inhabitants, have been tuning in to watch the league’s content material, in accordance to an estimate by Chinese social media big Tencent, which at the moment holds the league’s digital broadcasting rights.
In 2019, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told Reuters an estimated 300 million individuals in China performed the sport. That quantity has seemingly climbed since then, with viral movies on Chinese social media exhibiting how the love for the sport has unfold to rural areas, sparking large rivalries in village tournaments. The recreation has additionally impressed the standard actuality present Dunk of China, which featured former NBA gamers Jeremy Lin and Stephon Marbury teaching expert newbie gamers.
The worth of NBA China, the arm of the league that manages all its operations in the Greater China area, is estimated at roughly $5 billion, in accordance to an evaluation commissioned by ESPN in 2022.
“China is the NBA’s most important market outside of the United States, with hundreds of millions of fans, huge media rights sponsorship potential,” mentioned Dartmouth professor Argenti. “Walking away is never going to be a long-term option.”
Some of the largest names in the NBA have already taken steps earlier than the league to reconnect with their Chinese followers in particular person. LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokić toured China to promote sneakers earlier this yr.
NBA gamers are additionally popping up on a variety of Chinese social media platforms – from the X-like Weibo to Douyin, China’s model of TikTok – to share snippets of their lives and maximize their publicity to Chinese followers.
Matthew Spalter, chief working officer at East Goes Global, an company that makes a speciality of serving to localize social media content material for a Chinese viewers, mentioned his firm has been serving to at the least 10 NBA gamers and one third of all groups to formulate advertising methods to break into the Chinese market.
“We’ve never seen the demand higher than we’ve seen since really diving into sports,” Spalter mentioned. “It’s like an open pool of opportunity.”
Before the relationship turned bitter, the NBA was warmly welcomed in China, the place it repeatedly staged video games. But it took only one remark to jeopardize the seemingly pleasant dynamic.
Andrew Spalter, CEO at East Goes Global, says his firm prepares purchasers for delicate questions that come their means.
“We simply ask them high-level questions,” he mentioned, including that they might advise purchasers not to discuss issues they might usually keep away from in public.
But the actuality is extra nuanced.
Argenti mentioned the NBA’s comeback is a masterclass in how to navigate the Chinese market amid intensifying geopolitical tensions.
But he warns that issues may get extra difficult once more in President Donald Trump’s second time period.
“They’ve (got) trouble at home and trouble abroad because, if they get it wrong, Trump will amplify it, make it worse than it already is,” mentioned Argenti. “That makes it even more of a tightrope.”