Struggling NBA returns to play in China with games scheduled in Macau

The NBA is back in full swing with CCP-run China after kissing the proverbial ring.

Is the failed product of the NBA forcing their hand to get in bed with the wrong people?

The NBA will return to China in 2025 following the Daryl Morey incident

In a surprise development Thursday, the NBA is reportedly planning a return to China after years of acrimony.

Two preseason matches are scheduled to be played in Macao in October 2025.

Home to some 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.

China’s Communist government was offended, leading to friction and preventing 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.

Almost six years later, the league is back in China’s good graces.

The NBA’s connection to China remains a source of scrutiny

Despite the hypocrisy that comes with catering to China, the NBA does its utmost to keep the Communist government of China happy.

READ: Brooklyn Nets owner says NBA ‘in a very good place’ with China wants to resume play there

“The NBA needs to stick to its principles over profit,” commented an NBA fan on X.

Nets owner and Chinese billionaire Joe Tsai helped facilitate the association.

Tsai’s Nets travel to Macao to play the Phoenix Suns in two preseason games.

“I think the NBA is in a very good place in terms of relations with China,” Tsai said earlier about the possibility of the NBA returning to China.

“China is actually the NBA’s biggest fan base. So whatever happened before, I think that’s water under the bridge.”

The NBA’s struggling product with the American public needs all the help it can get.

Americans are not interested in the NBA in 2024

NBA ratings on ESPN are down 28 percent. As OutKick’s Joe Kinsey wrote, the NBA is a failed sport for American sports fans based on the poor 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.”

The propensity of players to slingshot three-point shots rather than execute coherent offensive plays has taken a lot of intrigue away 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 could not acknowledge the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region, but wanted to lecture viewers about Black Lives Matter in 2020.

The commissar’s player-friendly approach also encouraged an increase in “load management”, which allows players to rest games despite being close to full health.

The league is desperately hoping for a rebound from viewership. Adam Silver and the NBA braintrust are putting their future in the hands of China.

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