https://www.scmp.com/rss/523563/feed The NBA returns to China in 2025 with two matches between the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns at The Venetian Arena in Macau. The league has signed a five-year deal with Sands China to host games in the city. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Mathew Scott Mathew Scott It’s been 14 years since he’s shaken the backboard in an NBA game, but Shaquille O’Neal still looms large – on billboards, social media feeds and in the purple and gold jerseys worn by fans who have made the trip from across China to Macau’s Cotai Strip. When America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) returned to China for the first time in over five years, the former Los Angeles Lakers star was front and centre. Not on the court, but as a business mogul, brand president and ambassador for... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3330888/shaquille-oneal-talks-martial-arts-films-friendship-and-doing-business-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3330888/shaquille-oneal-talks-martial-arts-films-friendship-and-doing-business-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Nov 2025 01:00:14 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The return of star-studded NBA basketball teams to China, after a six-year absence, thrilled fans and marked the renewal of a relationship which has enormous potential. The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns tied in the two-game series at The Venetian Arena in Macau. The sell-out events were watched by a combined crowd of more than 22,000. There was plenty of glitz and glamour, with singers, a lion dance, NBA legends and other celebrities. Fans revelled in the pre-season action and were able to see... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3329404/nbas-macau-games-are-bright-spot-amid-us-china-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3329404/nbas-macau-games-are-bright-spot-amid-us-china-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 23:15:08 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan Chinese basketball prospect Zeng Fanbo was waived by the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, just days after the team concluded its NBA China Games in Macau. Zeng, who was included in the match day squad in only one of three Nets’ pre-season games so far, played 10 minutes off the bench against the Phoenix Suns in the first of two games at The Venetian Arena. The 22-year-old recorded one steal and three fouls while not attempting any shots. Zeng’s management team said the Harbin native would remain in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3329189/brooklyn-nets-ditch-chinas-zeng-fanbo-days-after-disappointing-macau-outing-against-suns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3329189/brooklyn-nets-ditch-chinas-zeng-fanbo-days-after-disappointing-macau-outing-against-suns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 04:30:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters NBA commissioner Adam Silver said a WNBA game in China is likely to happen “very soon,” but the league must first address the expiring collective bargaining agreement. Talking with CNBC during the first of two NBA pre-season games in Macau over the weekend, Silver was asked when a WNBA game in the country might take place. “We have to get through a new collective bargaining agreement with our players,” Silver said. “But once we do, there’s so much interest in women’s basketball here, I think... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3329088/wnba-game-china-could-happen-very-soon-nba-boss-adam-silver-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3329088/wnba-game-china-could-happen-very-soon-nba-boss-adam-silver-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 07:20:56 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong Hotels in Macau enjoyed an occupancy rate of more than 90 per cent over the weekend as a double dose of popular events – the NBA China Games and three nights of concerts – gave the tourism industry a big boost, according to industry experts. “The NBA played two games to near-full venues of audiences,” Andy Wu Keng-kuong, chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, told the Post on Monday, a day after the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns played their second and final game on Sunday... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328855/tourism-boost-macau-nba-china-games-concerts-help-hotels-hit-90-occupancy-rates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328855/tourism-boost-macau-nba-china-games-concerts-help-hotels-hit-90-occupancy-rates?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 13:06:30 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan This year’s NBA China Games concluded on Sunday night, but close-season developments on and off the court have added to the intrigue over which teams could make a visit in the coming seasons. After the Brooklyn Nets beat the Phoenix Suns 111-109 in Macau on Sunday to split their two-game pre-season series, the Post revealed the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets would face off in another mouthwatering clash at The Venetian Arena in 12 months. A combined attendance of 22,634 from two... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328819/nba-china-games-celtics-trail-blazers-thrown-mix-teams-coming-next-few-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328819/nba-china-games-celtics-trail-blazers-thrown-mix-teams-coming-next-few-years?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:00:23 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan The Brooklyn Nets beat the Phoenix Suns 111-109 in Macau on Sunday to split the first NBA China Games series, and fans can look forward to another mouthwatering clash at The Venetian Arena one year from now. Dallas Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont, who is also the president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, which runs The Venetian, told the Post a heavyweight Texas derby would happen in Macau in 2026. “Yes, the [Dallas] Mavericks and the [Houston] Rockets, here in Macau next year.... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328719/nets-beat-suns-tie-nba-china-games-series-texan-blockbuster-promised-next-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328719/nets-beat-suns-tie-nba-china-games-series-texan-blockbuster-promised-next-year?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Oct 2025 14:53:45 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan Legendary basketball players Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond have hailed the NBA’s current excitement value as the league returns to China with this weekend’s pre-season matches in Macau. Speaking to the Post in the casino city during the NBA China Games, Richmond said the sport was experiencing a peak in terms of entertainment, although Hardaway felt it was both a “good and bad” thing to see players nowadays focusing more on shooting from the outside. “The score is up, it’s exciting, but... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328654/nba-china-ex-all-star-says-game-more-exciting-now-has-1-flaw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328654/nba-china-ex-all-star-says-game-more-exciting-now-has-1-flaw?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Oct 2025 13:17:05 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan Zeng Fanbo made his Brooklyn Nets debut on Friday and said he just felt lucky to be playing in this weekend’s NBA China Games in Macau after missing almost six months through injury. The former Beijing star had suffered a stress fracture in his back during April’s CBA play-off semi-final against Shanxi, which had sidelined him since then. Coming off the bench for his first Nets start, the 22-year-old’s low-key debut involved minutes towards the end of each half and a significant amount of the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328633/nba-china-games-zeng-urged-remain-positive-after-low-key-debut-nets-loss-suns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328633/nba-china-games-zeng-urged-remain-positive-after-low-key-debut-nets-loss-suns?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Oct 2025 06:30:08 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong The NBA made a star-studded return to China on Friday, with singers, dancers, thousands of fans and a glittering array of celebrities cheering the league’s first game in the country for six years. A night long in the making began with a crowd of 11,317 at The Venetian Arena in Macau being treated to a show of illuminated lion dancers dressed in black, orange and purple, the colours of the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns. “Thank you for letting us back,” the Suns’ Dillon Brooks told the crowd in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328603/phoenix-suns-shine-macau-nba-makes-star-studded-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328603/phoenix-suns-shine-macau-nba-makes-star-studded-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 15:59:31 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan The long-awaited NBA China Games returned for the first time in six years on Friday evening as the Phoenix Suns overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 132-127 after overtime in Macau. Four more years remain on the multi-year deal between the NBA and Sands China in the casino hub – not to mention a second game between these two teams to come on Sunday – but the league’s chief said before tip-off that the pre-season event could make a comeback in mainland China, too, in the coming... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328602/nba-china-games-2025-phoenix-suns-surge-back-beat-brooklyn-nets-macau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328602/nba-china-games-2025-phoenix-suns-surge-back-beat-brooklyn-nets-macau?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 15:24:33 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan More elite basketball players from China could emerge and play professionally in the United States after the NBA announced a multi-year deal with its counterpart, the CBA, on Friday. Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, called the agreement a “transformational partnership” that would allow China’s next generation to become “the greatest players they can be”. News of the league’s partnership with the Chinese Basketball Association came hours before the first of the NBA China Games between the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328472/nba-boss-adam-silver-calls-new-multi-year-deal-china-transformational-partnership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328472/nba-boss-adam-silver-calls-new-multi-year-deal-china-transformational-partnership?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 04:19:00 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan The Phoenix Suns’ star player Devin Booker has hailed the importance of the NBA’s return to China, as his team prepared to face the Brooklyn Nets in two pre-season games in Macau. The pair of games, to be played at the casino hub’s Venetian Arena on Friday and Sunday, will be the league’s first matches in China since 2019, and the 10-year veteran acknowledged that it was a “big deal” for it to be back. “It’s super-important – we have a big fan base out here in China, and we have Chinese players... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328427/nbas-return-china-big-deal-phoenix-suns-star-devin-booker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328427/nbas-return-china-big-deal-phoenix-suns-star-devin-booker?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 04:00:12 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong Visitors began flocking into Macau on Thursday ahead of the first NBA China Games in six years, although locals and business owners said they had yet to see the effects and hoped future events had more publicity. At The Venetian Macau, where the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will tip off the 2025 NBA China Games on Friday, tourists who had arrived early checked out merchandise and scouted the venue. The league has set up a 151,000 sq ft NBA House at the hotel’s Cotai Expo area, where fans can... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328422/tourists-flock-macau-ahead-nba-china-games-businesses-wait-cash-boost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328422/tourists-flock-macau-ahead-nba-china-games-businesses-wait-cash-boost?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 14:30:08 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan The Brooklyn Nets’ new signing Zeng Fanbo has said he is better equipped to make a charge at the NBA than he was a few years ago. Speaking in Macau on Thursday ahead of the NBA China Games, Zeng, who signed a one-year Exhibit 10 contract with the Eastern Conference team last month, also said he held no grudge about being left on the bench during the Nets’ 123-88 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem at Barclays Centre last Saturday. Zeng, 22, could make his debut when the Nets will face the Phoenix Suns... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328403/nba-china-games-2025-zeng-fanbo-eyes-positive-impact-brooklyn-nets-macau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328403/nba-china-games-2025-zeng-fanbo-eyes-positive-impact-brooklyn-nets-macau?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 11:13:45 +0000 SCMP Sport SCMP Sport The Brooklyn Nets will host a series of youth clinics across Hong Kong and Macau as part of the return of the NBA to China this week. As part of the team’s commitment to growing the game globally and supporting local communities, the Nets also said they would support the revitalisation of basketball courts in Hong Kong. According to a release on Wednesday, 13 clinics will be held across multiple venues in the two Greater Bay Area cities around the two pre-season games between the Nets and the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328259/brooklyn-nets-hold-clinics-help-revitalise-basketball-courts-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3328259/brooklyn-nets-hold-clinics-help-revitalise-basketball-courts-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:06:02 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong Hongkonger Wilson Tsang Wai-shun began following basketball in secondary school, a time when the National Basketball Association (NBA) experienced one of its fastest expansions, acquiring both fortune and fame with fans. While much of that was down to the likes of global superstar Michael Jordan, in China, the sport had by then been popular for decades. But then NBA commissioner David Stern’s initial 1987-88 agreement to broadcast games on China Central Television, around the time Jordan was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3327889/nets-v-suns-macau-tracing-nbas-rise-fall-and-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3327889/nets-v-suns-macau-tracing-nbas-rise-fall-and-return-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 01:00:21 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan The NBA All-Star Game took place under a revamped format in San Francisco on Sunday, but superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo suggested going a step further and staging it abroad, potentially in China. However, his views sparked a largely negative reaction from Chinese fans, who were quick to question the motivations behind the idea. The Greek forward was discussing how to improve the annual event and said taking it overseas, with a new format of Team USA v Team World, was a potential... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3298971/nba-star-suggests-staging-all-star-game-china-chinese-fans-give-hostile-reaction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3298971/nba-star-suggests-staging-all-star-game-china-chinese-fans-give-hostile-reaction?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Feb 2025 07:02:13 +0000 Peggy Sito Peggy Sito As Macau marks the 25th anniversary of its handover, the city’s casino operators are responding to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call to invest in tourism and leisure to diversify the gambling-dependent economy. In the first of a series of profiles, the Post looks at what Sands China is doing to upgrade its facilities and put more emphasis on special events and entertainment. Just a week ago, National Basketball Association (NBA) legends Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen and Tony Parker joined... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3290453/beyond-baccarat-how-sands-china-driving-macau-30-nba-better-infrastructure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3290453/beyond-baccarat-how-sands-china-driving-macau-30-nba-better-infrastructure?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Dec 2024 02:00:10 +0000 Peggy Sito,Mike Chan Peggy Sito,Mike Chan The NBA will return to China in 2025, with two pre-season games in Macau bringing an end to a years-long exile sparked by an official’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters in 2019. A multimillion-dollar agreement between the basketball league and Sands China was signed on Friday, with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns scheduled to play two matches on October 10 and 12. Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, called it an “exciting day” as he took part in a series of media events to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3289764/nbas-deal-macau-marks-end-5-year-china-exile-brings-nets-suns-casino-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3289764/nbas-deal-macau-marks-end-5-year-china-exile-brings-nets-suns-casino-city?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2024 12:19:26 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan Hong Kong has missed out on hosting NBA matches because of inadequate facilities, sources told the Post, after the league announced a five-year multi-million dollar deal to stage multiple games in Macau starting next year. The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will play on October 10 and 12, with two more games reportedly in the works for 2026. And in a blow to Hong Kong’s hopes of hosting top-level events, sources said while the city had been on the NBA’s radar for more than a decade, Macau’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3289650/hong-kong-lost-out-macau-nba-deal-over-poorer-finances-infrastructure-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3289650/hong-kong-lost-out-macau-nba-deal-over-poorer-finances-infrastructure-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2024 10:00:18 +0000 Peggy Sito,Mike Chan Peggy Sito,Mike Chan The National Basketball Association (NBA) has signed a multimillion-dollar agreement to stage pre-season games in Macau, taking the sport to the doorstep of its biggest potential market as it struggles at home to regain the mass viewership it enjoyed before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will play two games on October 10 and 12 next year at The Venetian Arena operated by Sands China, kicking off the five-year agreement in Macau, the former Portuguese territory near... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3289597/macau-host-nba-games-part-multimillion-dollar-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3289597/macau-host-nba-games-part-multimillion-dollar-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2024 02:49:02 +0000 Reuters,SCMP Sport Reuters,SCMP Sport Commissioner Adam Silver believes that the NBA could stage games in China again, five years after a controversy over the Hong Kong democracy protests prompted a backlash against the top-flight North American league. The Houston Rockets’ then general manager Daryl Morey posted a message in support of anti-government protests in Hong Kong on social media in 2019, setting off a firestorm of controversy for the NBA in the lucrative Chinese market. China refused to broadcast two preseason games that... https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3281999/will-china-host-nba-games-again-5-years-after-row-over-daryl-moreys-hong-kong-tweet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3281999/will-china-host-nba-games-again-5-years-after-row-over-daryl-moreys-hong-kong-tweet?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Oct 2024 07:54:43 +0000