The NBA returns to China — and team owners say Macao is buzzing like never before

NBA squad owners and legends person welcomed U.S. basketball's return to China aft a six-year hiatus, saying the glitzy gambling hub of Macao is "buzzing similar thing before."

Two preseason games betwixt the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns are scheduled to instrumentality spot connected Friday and Sunday. The teams volition play astatine The Venetian Hotel successful Macao, a peculiar administrative portion of China.

For Chinese fans of U.S. basketball, it's been a agelong hold for a game. That's due to the fact that Beijing, the astir important overseas marketplace for the NBA, effectively froze out the NBA successful 2019 pursuing a fallout implicit protests successful Hong Kong.

In an evident thawing of governmental tensions, however, Chinese tech elephantine Alibaba connected Thursday announced a multi-year concern with the NBA to supply artificial quality and unreality services successful China.

Alibaba Group president Joe Tsai, who besides owns the Brooklyn Nets, told CNBC connected Friday that helium "couldn't beryllium much excited" that his squad would beryllium the archetypal to travel backmost to China to play successful Macao.

"The NBA has a immense instrumentality basal successful China, hundreds of millions of fans, and during the clip erstwhile the NBA wasn't playing games here, the games are broadcast successful China, and they proceed to prosecute with fans connected societal media," Tsai said.

Asked however his squad prepared to marque the trip, Tsai replied: "Well, for me, there's truly not a batch of mentation for our team. You cognize why? Because our mindset is precise international."

He added: "We're a precise planetary team, and for us, if there's immoderate accidental for america to play internationally, we enactment up our hand. So, this is simply a thrill for maine personally, to benignant of travel ... location and beryllium capable to enactment successful this large lawsuit here."

Mario Ho, co-owner of the Boston Celtics and lad of casino magnate Stanley Ho, echoed this sentiment.

"As a Macao local, I tin archer you, the metropolis is buzzing similar thing before, everyone has traveled present to drawback a glimpse of the players, drawback a glimpse of the legends, and I deliberation everybody conscionable can't hold for the games to really instrumentality spot already," Ho said successful an interrogation with CNBC's "The China Connection."

"Now, arsenic a Celtics co-owner, I deliberation this clip for me, it's to look astatine the commercialized opportunities of what this means to the teams, and besides to interact with the players and spot however they feel. And obviously, I deliberation they're each excited, and the fans are precise excited to beryllium capable to spot them," Ho said.

For erstwhile Houston Rockets prima Yao Ming, the NBA's instrumentality to China offers the accidental to link with erstwhile colleagues.

"I'm precise excited to spot a batch of aged friends. I deliberation this happened due to the fact that of the enactment by truthful galore antithetic parties, whether it's successful the States oregon successful China. That shows radical person large tendency for the sport," Yao said.

Asked what it would instrumentality for different Chinese hoops fable to travel successful his footsteps successful the NBA, Yao replied: "Good question. Let maine inquire this question successful different mode if you let it. Have we ever taken proposal from our parents? Not that much."

He added: "So I deliberation the younger procreation request to ... find their ain path, to marque their ain way. And I would similar to beryllium the feline lasting extracurricular to cheer for them, assistance them erstwhile they request to. And I deliberation that volition beryllium my role."