NBA’s deal with Macau marks end of 5-year China exile, Nets, Suns heading to city

The NBA will return to China in 2025, with two pre-season games in Macau bringing an end to a years-long exile sparked by an official’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters in 2019.

A multimillion-dollar agreement between the basketball league and Sands China was signed on Friday, with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns scheduled to play two matches on October 10 and 12.

Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, called it an “exciting day” as he took part in a series of media events to announce the move, and referenced the “long history” basketball had in China, adding that Macau was home to “some of the most passionate” fans.

“Our games started being broadcast on CCTV in the mid-1980s, so it’s nearly a 40-year relationship. I think this is such a treat for us to be able to bring NBA games back here to Macau,” Tatum added.

Grant Chum, the CEO of Sands China, said his group was a “pioneer in bringing international events to enhance the tourism landscape of Macau”.

Before the then Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s ill-fated tweet at the height of the civil unrest in Hong Kong, the NBA had staged 25 games in China since 2004.