NBA representatives in Shanghai confirm Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers will go ahead

NBA China and NBA representatives have confirmed that Thursday night’s pre-season game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers will go ahead as planned despite the current tense situation between the league and the Chinese government.

The game, which is scheduled for a 7.30pm tip-off at Mercedes-Benz Arena in the Pudong area of the city, was confirmed to be on this morning via NBA’s official Weibo account. The post, which was published just before noon, includes a short video montage of Nets and Lakers players.

An NBA representative in Shanghai confirmed by email that the game was on. There is no word yet if players will be available to media before or after the game as was originally planned.

The NBA has found itself mired in a huge controversy in China that was sparked last week when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters. He has since deleted the tweet, however, NBA commissioner Adam Silver inflamed relations between the league and China further by stating he supports Morey’s right to freedom of expression as an employee of the NBA.

Multiple events scheduled to take place in Shanghai have already been cancelled including a Fan Day that was supposed to take place last night at the Oriental Sports Centre. Yesterday, a worker could be seen taking down a massive banner promoting the game outside of the Super Brand Mall, which is right beside the two hotels where NBA players and staff are staying.

The Nets and Lakers are also scheduled to play in Shenzhen on Saturday and posts on Chinese social media sites have shown workers setting up the arena in the city for the game.