The NBA is headed back to China for the first time since 2019 with a pair of preseason games in October 2025 in Macao between the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns, according to a league announcement.
China was a major economic growth area for the NBA and a regular destination for preseason games, including 28 played between 2004 and 2019. But the relationship between the league and nation of 1.4 billion people was fractured in 2019, when then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted an image supporting protests in Hong Kong. NBA commissioner Adam Silver supported the freedom of expression, which triggered state broadcaster CCTV to pull NBA games from its airwaves and sponsorships in China to disappear.
More from Sportico.com
Silver has worked to repair the relationship between the league and China. Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont was a key player in establishing the 2025 NBA China Games. The games in Macao will be played at the Venetian Arena, owned by Sands China, a subsidiary of global resort giant Las Vegas Sands. Dumont is the president of LVS and bought the Mavericks at a $3.5 billion valuation in late 2023 with his mother-in-law Miriam Adelson.
This is a multiyear partnership between the NBA and Sands China, which owns five resorts in Macao.
The Nets have played the most games outside of the U.S. and Canada of any NBA team at 24, most recently in January in Paris. The team is owned by Taiwan-born Joe Tsai, who is the co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. “I think the NBA is in a very good place with respect to its relationship with China,” Tsai told CNBC in February. “China is actually the NBA’s biggest fan base. So what happened before, I think it’s water under the bridge.”
The NBA China Games 2025 will be broadcast in more than 200 countries and has Alibaba brand 88VIP as a title sponsor. Other marketing partners for the games include Ant International, Ctrip, Mengniu, Nike and Tissot.
Macao has hosted several international sporting events over the last 12 months, including the 2024 Macau Grand Prix, the International Table Tennis Federation’s Men’s and Women’s World Cup, the MGM International Regatta and the inaugural MGM Macao Tennis Masters Invitational.
“Bringing preseason games to Macao will showcase the excitement of the NBA to fans in one of the world’s emerging hubs for sports,” Mark Tatum, NBA chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We look forward to engaging fans, aspiring players and the local community in Macao through these games and a variety of interactive events, youth development programs and social impact initiatives.”
Best of Sportico.com
Sign up for Sportico’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
