NBA games return to China for first time since Hong Kong pro-democracy row

Two games in Macau this weekend will be the first since the league was effectively frozen out in 2019.

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Two pre-season games are scheduled for Friday and Sunday between the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns at an arena in Macau's Venetian casino and hotel.

China effectively froze the NBA out six years ago when one of the organisation's managers wrote in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, a former British colony that has seen a clampdown on civil liberties.

The games come after the NBA and Chinese technology giant Alibaba announced a multi-year partnership at the end of last year. The Brooklyn Nets are owned by the company's chair, Joseph Tsai.

It is the first time an NBA fixture has been played in Macau - a special administrative region like Hong Kong, known for its casinos - since 2007.