NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'

English Woman's Journal - NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'

SPORTS 10.10.2024

NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point' / Photo: Kevin C. Cox - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday he expects his league will once more play games in China after having not done so since 2019, according to multiple media reports.

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Silver, speaking at Columbia University in a sports management conference, said he expects a China return despite no NBA games there since two 2019 pre-season contests were played in controversy following a tweet supporting freedom for Hong Kong by then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.

"I think we will bring back games to China at some point," Silver said. "We had a well-known incident there pre-pandemic with a tweet and China's government took us off the air for a period of time. We accepted that. We stood by our values."

The NBA lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the NBA being taken off Chinese television until 2022.

Since then, the league has grown globally in other nations, playing pre-season games in Abu Dhabi earlier this month with Emirates Airlines sponsoring the NBA Cup, the league's in-season tournament.

Silver said the NBA tries to make a positive contribution to nations beyond sport.

"We came to the decision collectively as a league that by expanding our game internationally, that it's positive and it's part of our mission to create health and wellness around the sport of basketball," Silver said.

R.Sutherland--EWJ

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English Woman's Journal - NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'