NBA pre-season games will return to China in October 2025, with Sands China’s Venetian arena hosting the Brooklyn Nets versus the Phoenix Suns. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The NBA is returning to China for the first time since October 2019. Two pre-season games will take place annually in Macau from the start of next season as part of an initial five-year agreement.

Sands China, one of the six casino licensees in the special administrative region of China, will host the action at its Venetian arena. The Brooklyn Nets will battle the Phoenix Suns in the first game in October 2025.

first NBA game to take place in China was in 2004

The first NBA game to take place in China was in 2004 as part of a plan to improve the sport’s global reach. The events came to a halt in 2019 due to comments that then-Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey made about the Hong Kong anti-government protests.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver didn’t punish Morey, which led to Beijing halting the broadcast of NBA games in China and many sponsors leaving the sport. It cost the league as much as $400m the following year.

Only one pre-season game ever took place in Macau, when the Orlando Magic played the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. As a teaser for next season’s action, the city will host a celebrity game on Saturday featuring legendary players like Ray Allen, Tracy McGrady, and Tony Parker.