LeBron James’ essay in Chinese state newspaper a sign that NBA’s China revival almost complete
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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James recently visited Shanghai and Chengdu as part of the Forever King Tour.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BEIJING – LeBron James has become the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to author a piece in China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper, an unusual move suggesting the top-flight American basketball league’s long row with Beijing could be ending.
The NBA enjoyed decades of fast growth in China, where some 300 million play the game, ballooning into a business worth more than US$4 billion (S$5.13 billion).
The league was one of the most popular US cultural exports to the country until 2019, when Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets team, sent a tweet in support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
The fallout was swift and brutal. China’s state broadcaster CCTV stopped showing NBA games for 28 months, local sponsors cut ties, and Rockets merchandise vanished from store shelves. NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed in 2022 that financial losses amounted to “hundreds of millions” of dollars.
Six years later, despite renewed US-China trade tensions, the People’s Daily publication of James’ essay highlights how the NBA’s relationship with its most important market outside America is close to being fully repaired.
In the past three years, CCTV has gradually returned to broadcasting NBA games as before and Chinese companies have signed deals with the league.
In October, two NBA pre-season games will be played in Macau, the first time since 2019 that NBA teams will play on Chinese soil.
James’ essay in the newspaper, known for signalling Beijing’s views on a variety of issues, follows his visits to Chinese megacities Shanghai and Chengdu as part of the Forever King Tour, marking the 20th anniversary of his first Nike tour of Asia.
“The enthusiasm and kindness of Chinese friends deeply touch me, and all I can do is give my all in every game to express my gratitude,” wrote James, who has visited China 15 times and is set to start a record-breaking 23rd season in the NBA.
“I hope I can contribute to the development of Chinese basketball.”
The People’s Daily publishing James’ tribute could also signal the Chinese leadership’s wish for US cultural icons to help promote people-to-people exchanges at a time when bilateral relations are strained on various fronts.
Chinese ambassadors to the US have in the past attended and spoken at sporting events stateside to promote conciliatory messages on bilateral ties to an American audience. REUTERS
