Reuters2 Minutes Reading
NEW YORK — The NBA and China may have had a turbulent relationship over the years, but retired great Yao Ming told Reuters the league is still “first class” in his country.
Yao, the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, rose to prominence in the United States as an eight-time All-Star for the Houston Rockets before retiring in 2011.
The affable, 6-foot-6 Yao boosted the NBA’s popularity in his home country, but relations between the league and China have not always been smooth.
Chinese broadcasters stopped airing Rockets games in 2019 after then-general manager Daryl Morey released a message of support for anti-government protests in Hong Kong, and earlier this year, former NBA player Dwight Howard appeared in a promotional video that referenced Taiwan. as a country, causing reactions.
“I have to say the NBA is in first place… [because]you know, the players are exposed to China for so long,” Yao said, when asked about the past issues between China and the NBA. “The players, the teams [are] all still very welcome in China.”
Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Kyle Anderson competed with China in the FIBA World Cup, while Miami Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler they embarked on a country tour over the summer.
Yao traveled to New York this week for the first time in nearly four years as part of a roughly 30-strong Chinese delegation and met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver at a time when international participation in the league is at an all-time high.
“Everything is visible [like it is] it runs very, very well [under] his management,” Yao said of Silver.
The trip coincides with the return of the Women’s Tennis Association to China. The WTA wrapped up the China Open earlier this month after previously suspending matches there due to the disappearance of Peng Shuai.
Yao, a longtime friend of the former doubles No. 1, said he had met Peng for dinner about two months ago and was getting on well.