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NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league will play games in China again “at some point.”

October 11, 2024

tension between the NBA And China's points league commissioner Adam Silver appears exhausted by the possibility of playing a game in the country again.

Five years have passed since the controversy began with Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, which resulted in Chinese broadcasters not broadcasting games in the country.

But relations between the NBA and China are improving, Silver said Thursday at a sports management conference at Columbia University, and he believes the games could return soon.

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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver arrives at the Footprint Center before the WNBA All-Star Game. (Mark J. Rebillas/USA TODAY Sports)

“I think at some point we will bring the games back to China,” he said. “The Chinese government pushed us out for a while. We accept it. We uphold our values. … Every member of our league has the right to speak out about politics.”

A rift in relations occurred in 2019 when Morey posted on social media that he supported anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

According to Silver, what happened after the post was financially damaging to the NBA because China is an important market for the league.

Mark Cuban defends NBA partnership with China despite opposition to 'China and all its human rights abuses'

Silver also noted that Chinese officials tried to fire Morey in 2019 after he showed support for anti-government protests, which led to disagreements in China on the issue.

Instead, Chinese broadcasters responded by not broadcasting two pre-season matches played in the country. Los Angeles Lakers And Brooklyn Nets went to play there. Silver revealed that the league suffered “dramatic” financial losses due to the flight of corporate sponsors and other factors.

However, the Chinese CCTV blackout ended in 2022, which was a good sign in the eyes of the NBA. The league remains adamant in its desire to reach a global audience while building new populations in various countries.

Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai told reporters that the league's relationship with China is “in very good shape.”

“So whatever happened before, I think it's water under the bridge,” Tsai said, adding that China is the “largest fan base” in the league.

The lecture was delivered by Adam Silver

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the announcement of the NBA-endorsed African Basketball League at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, July 30, 2019. (Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images)

But the league has come under fire for years over its business partnership with China, in part because of the training camps it supports in Xinjiang, where the government persecutes the Uyghur population. The United States government considered it genocide by China.

This was recently brought up by Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, who posted on X that he is against “China and all human rights abuses.” However, he agrees that the NBA exports its content to China because the league “pays for it.”

In addition to the Uyghur genocide, China's population control through forced abortions, involuntary introduction of contraceptives and other human rights abuses have sparked controversy in the country and its interim government.

In 2022, an ESPN investigation found that NBA owners had a total of $10 billion in China, including one owner whose company had a joint venture with an entity sanctioned by the U.S. government.

Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom testified before Congress in 2023 that his criticism of China's treatment of Uyghurs affected his NBA career. Kanter Freedom even suggested that the NBA is run by a “Chinese dictatorship.”