NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the league will play games in China again “at some point.”

Tensions between the NBA and China appear to be easing enough that league commissioner Adam Silver said games could be played in the country again.

Five years have passed since the controversy sparked by Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, which resulted in Chinese broadcasters not broadcasting games in the country.

But relations between the NBA and China have improved since then, Silver said Thursday at the Columbia University Sports Management Conference, and he believes games could be held there again soon.

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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver arrives at the Footprint Center before the WNBA All-Star Game. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)

“I think at some point we will bring games to China again,” he said. “The Chinese government took us off the air for a period of time. We accepted that. We stood by our values. … Everyone in our league has the right to speak out on political issues.”

The break in the relationship came in 2019 when Morey posted on social media that he supported anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

What happened after the post was financially damaging to the NBA, according to Silver, as China is a major market for the league.

MARK CUBAN DEFENDS THE NBA'S CHINA PARTNERSHIP EVEN THOUGH IT COVERS “CHINESE AND ALL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.”

Silver also noted that Chinese officials wanted Morey fired in 2019 after he showed support for the anti-government protests, leading to a disagreement in China on the issue.

Chinese broadcasters, in turn, responded by not broadcasting two preseason games played in the country after the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets traveled to play there. Silver revealed that the league had suffered “dramatic” financial losses due to the flight of corporate sponsors and other factors.

However, in 2022, China's video surveillance blackout ended, which was a good sign in the eyes of the NBA. The league placed great emphasis on reaching its global audience while creating new audiences in different countries.

Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai, speaking to reporters, also mentioned that the league's relations with China are “very good.”

“So what happened before, I think that's water under the bridge,” Tsai said, adding that China is the league's “biggest fan base.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the announcement of the NBA-sponsored Basketball Africa League at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar on July 30, 2019. (Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images)

But the league has been criticized for years because of its business partnerships with China, including because of the league-supported training camps in Xinjiang, where the government is repressing the Uyghur population. The United States government has classified it as genocide by China.

This was recently brought up by Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, who posted on X that he was against “Chinese and all human rights violations.” However, he's okay with the NBA exporting its content to China because the league “gets paid for it.”

Aside from the Uyghur genocide, China's population control through forced abortion, involuntary birth control and other human rights abuses has been a source of controversy with the country and its incumbent government.

In 2022, an ESPN investigation found that NBA owners had a combined $10 billion in China, including one owner whose company had a joint venture with a U.S. government-sanctioned company.

Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA center, testified before Congress in 2023, arguing that his criticism of China's treatment of the Uighurs had affected his NBA career. Kanter Freedom has even suggested that the NBA is run by “the Chinese dictatorship.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at a press conference during the 2023 Mexico City NBA Game at Arena CDMX. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)

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The 2024-25 NBA regular season begins October 22nd.

Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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