Hong Kong —
As soon as he learned the NBA was returning to China, diehard fan Buke Liu scrambled to get his hands on tickets, paying almost a thousand dollars – a price you might expect for an NBA Finals game – for a ticket to a preseason match-up.
One of America’s most successful sporting exports, the NBA is hugely popular in China, and a rare cultural touchpoint between two nations increasingly seen as geopolitical rivals.
For Liu, and many Chinese fans, it’s been a long wait to go to a game. NBA teams, packed with global stars, have effectively been banned from setting foot in one of basketball’s largest overseas markets since 2019, following a political firestorm that drew the ire of Beijing.
And the pent-up demand has made seats at this weekend’s Phoenix Suns - Brooklyn Nets preseason matches particularly hard to come by. The teams play on Friday and Sunday at The Venetian Hotel in Macao, the glitzy gambling hub in southern China known for its casino-powered entertainment.
Liu forked out $980 to a scalper for his seat at the Sunday game and access to fan activities.
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