Consistent reports in American media say that Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns are to meet in two preseason matches in Macau in October next year. An agreement is said to be in place for two matches to be played annually over a five-year period.
The deal marks the end point of the conflict that erupted between the NBA and China in 2019.
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of the Hong Kong demonstrators' fight for democracy. The NBA supported Morey's right to exercise his freedom of speech, but it did not go down well in China, where the country's state television company completely stopped broadcasting the league's matches for a year. It wasn't until 2022 that the broadcasts were fully resumed.
In recent years, there have been further small signs of reconciliation, and in October, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he believed the league could return to China to play matches in the future.
The conflict with China is believed to have cost the NBA several billion kronor in lost revenue from TV contracts, sponsorship, and sales of supporter products.
