Posted: December 6, 2024, 05:08.
Last updated: December 6, 2024 05:08h.
The NBA and Suns China today announced a multi-year agreement that will see the NBA play select preseason games in Macau.
Venetian Macau integrated resort. The venue will host two NBA preseason games in October 2025. (Image: Business Today)
The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will play a pair of exhibition games at the Venetian Arena, located in the casino hotel of the same name operated by Suns China. These contests are scheduled for Friday, October 10th and Sunday, October 12th.
Sands China is a division of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS). Dr. Miriam Adelson is the company’s largest individual shareholder, and she and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont, the casino giant’s president and chief operating officer, are the owners of the Dallas Mavericks. Dumont is the governor of an NBA franchise.
Hosting preseason games in Macau will bring the excitement of the NBA to fans in one of the world’s emerging sports hubs. “The Nets and Suns feature an exciting combination of established and emerging stars,” NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Tatum said in a statement.
Assuming the following players are not traded between now and the start of the 2025 season, the Suns will bring All-Stars Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and two-time champion Kevin Durant to Macau. .
NBA returns to China after Morey drama
News of the Macau exhibition game marks the NBA’s return to China after a five-year absence that was in part due to then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
In 2019, Morey took to the social media platform then known as Twitter to express support for Hong Kong protesters. The deleted image read: “Fight for freedom and stand with Hong Kong.” Morey’s tweet drew condemnation from some NBA stars, with LeBron James calling Morey’s views a misunderstanding and some Chinese officials pressuring the NBA to fire the general manager. I put it on.
Morey’s boss at the time was Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and Golden Nugget casino empire, so Imbroglio has some indirect gaming connections. Fertitta was quick to insist that Morey’s views do not reflect those of the Rockets, but during the 2019-20 season, even when the team played opponents with marquee stars, China was unable to tune into the Rockets’ broadcasts. The damage was done by the refusal.
At the time, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league could lose up to $400 million in annual revenue by losing access to China. Morey left the Rockets in 2020 and became president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers later that year.
Macau gaming could be a moneymaker
Financial terms of the relationship between the NBA and Macau have not been disclosed, but the relationship is likely to be beneficial for the Suns China as the league is hugely popular with Chinese fans. The league knows as much, and has the means to capitalize on that enthusiasm.
“Ahead of the game, the NBA Flagship Store will open at The Londoner Macau, offering fans from Macau and around the world a wide range of authentic and customizable NBA merchandise from leading brands,” the statement said. thing.
Londoner is also operated by Sands China.
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