It looks like the NBA is back in business with China.
At least that’s what Nets owner Joe Tsai, one of the people in the best position to know, says. He has been influential in the NBA’s relationship with China for many years.
Tsai, a Taiwanese-born co-founder and chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, said the NBA is “in a very good position” with China.
This comes four years after the league lost its largest fan base (even bigger than the United States) and hundreds of millions of dollars due to what was probably the most expensive tweet in history by then-Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
But now Tsai, interviewed by CNBC’s Emily Tan at the GBA International Sports Business Summit in Macau on Friday, is “delighted” the league will resume games in China and Macau. said.
“I think the NBA is in a very good position regarding its relationship with China,” Tsai said, according to Reuters. “In fact, China is the NBA’s biggest fan base. So what happened before, I think it’s water under the bridge.”
Mr. Tsai would know. The tech billionaire has been heavily involved in this situation since day one.
His Nets were the most recent NBA team to play in China in 2019.
They were scheduled to play the Lakers in Shanghai and Shenzhen when Morey tweeted a meme supporting the Hong Kong anti-government protests.
The Chinese government was furious and banned the NBA from state-run CCTV for nearly two years.
During the international incident when the Nets and Lakers were in China, all league officials were essentially muzzled, and the Post obtained the only on-the-record comments from Tsai.
China is home to 300 million NBA fans, and commissioner Adam Silver estimated in 2021 that TIFF cost the league $400 million that year.
However, thaw and recovery may occur.
“I think it will give fans a chance to really interact with the stars face-to-face,” Tsai said. “I think that’s going to be important.”
