By any measure, the National Basketball Association has made a triumphant comeback in China six years after being effectively banned.
The Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets played two sold-out games over the weekend in Macau. While the league has overwhelming commercial reasons to return to its most important market behind the U.S., it has re-entered a politically fraught landscape. Washington and Beijing’s face-off over tariffs is only amplifying what might otherwise be less vexing issues.
But no one walking through the raucous halls of Las Vegas Sand’s Venetian Macao, where the games took place, would discern the presence of any proverbial minefields surrounding the $5 billion business. The dominant emotions were excitement and relief. Tens of thousands of fans came from all over the country for the chance to see basketball legends like Vince Carter, Dwyane Wade, Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal. The long wait to watch pre-season games on their turf was finally over.
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