”Basketball is not just a sport, but also a bridge that connects us”, the 40-year-old writes, among other things.
”The enthusiasm and kindness from Chinese friends have really moved me, and all I can do is give my all in every match to express my gratitude”.
The article has been noticed by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
”It is unusual for the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party to publish articles signed by foreign sports stars”, writes South China Morning Post, which since 2016 also has a close connection to the Communist Party.
NBA was very big in China until 2019, when the league chose not to punish Daryl Morey, then general manager for Houston Rockets, for a tweet that supported government-critical demonstrators in Hong Kong. TV broadcasts from NBA matches were then stopped in China.
The ban lasted for a year, and it was not until 2022 that NBA again began to be broadcast regularly in the country.
In an attempt to once again lift NBA in China, two preseason matches between Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets will be played in Macau in October. The attempt to rebuild the relationship comes at a time of political tensions and customs chaos between the US and China.
