NBA returns to China for preseason games in Macau: Report 

On Friday, Reuters reported that the NBA will return to China for two preseason games at Sands Venetian Arena in Macau. Sands China owns and operates several casinos in Macau.

According to Reuters, which cited local media, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announced that the league would be hosting two preseason games in China annually for the next five years.

The first games set to take place in Macau will be between the Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets, who will play in October leading up to the 2025-26 NBA season. The game won't be the first held at the Venetian arena, with the NBA Legends Celebrity Game also set to take place at the same venue.

"It's my pleasure to announce that the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will play two pre-season games at Sands' Venetian Arena on October 10 and October 12, 2025," Tatum said (via Yahoo).

"We accepted that. We stood by our values" - NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the league returning to China in October

In 2019, Daryl Morey shared an image on social media supporting Hong Kong protestors. After the Chinese Government pushed back, league executives stood behind Morey, leading to China removing league programming from TV networks.

Since then, there's been plenty of work done behind the scenes to repair the relationship between the league and China.

In October, Adam Silver spoke at a sports management conference where he indicated that he was confident the league would make a return to China in the future.

"We had a well-known incident there pre-pandemic with a tweet and China's government took us off the air for a period of time. We accepted that. We stood by our values," Adam Silver said.

Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, who is the COO and President of the Vegas section of the Sands company, has worked behind the scenes to help facilitate the new partnership with Macau.

As part of the new deal, there will also be youth development programs aimed at bringing the game of basketball to a younger international audience.