National Basketball Association (NBA)

The NBA has previously faced criticism for its business ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) through a subsidiary NBA China (allegedly worth roughly $5 billion) as well as a streaming deal with the group Tencent at $1.5 billion over a five-year period.   ^{4 5 6} During the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 the NBA was criticized for painting the message “Black Lives Matter” on courts while allowing players to substitute it and similar left-of-center political advocacy slogans for their surnames on jerseys.  ^{7 8 9 10 11}

History and Background

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was initially founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), but would later merge with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the “National Basketball Association,” with BAA president Maurice Podoloff becoming the new league’s first president. The NBA later adopted the BAA’s founding year and history as its own. ^{1 12}

Activities

The NBA operates as an umbrella organization for 30 franchises spanning the United States and Canada, overseeing a regular season of 82 games per team followed by a multi-round playoff bracket culminating in the NBA Finals championship tournament. The league also administers affiliated organizations including the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the NBA G League (its developmental minor league), the NBA 2K League (a video-game competition), and the Basketball Africa League. ^{13 2 14}

The NBA generates revenue through national and local broadcast deals, sponsorships, ticket sales, and international partnerships. In the 2023-2024 season, the league’s 30 teams collectively reported $11.3 billion in total revenue, reflecting a 13 percent increase from 2022. In 2014, the NBA’s television contract with ESPN and Turner Sports was valued at $24 billion over nine years. 2025, the NBA concluded that deal and entered new agreements with Amazon, ESPN, and NBC. ^{15 16 17}

Controversies

People’s Republic of China

In October 2019, Daryl Morey, then the general manager of the Houston Rockets, posted “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” on his Twitter page expressing support for pro-democracy protesters, but removed it less than a day later. Following the post, it was reported that all 11 of the Chinese corporate partners for the NBA had suspended ties and support for the NBA while halting sports broadcasting in the region, while local streaming platform Tencent claimed it would stop live streaming of at least two pre-season games. ^{6 18}

Following the post, the NBA released an initial statement calling Morey’s post “regrettable” and that it had “deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China.”  ⁶ Following initial outcry from the statement, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver claimed the league did not censor players or employees, while several players and owners including Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James criticized Morey’s statement, with the latter claiming Morey had spoken without being “educated on the situation at hand.” ESPN later described the tweet as “neither rash nor uninformed, but a conscious effort to express his solidarity for people he knew well.” ^{19  20  21}

Enes Kanter Freedom

In October 2021, then-Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom was criticized by Chinese state media outlets for wearing Nike shoes including anti-Chinese Communist Party slogans such as “Free Tibet” and “Free Uyghur.” Following this, Tencent banned broadcasts of Celtics games for that season.  ^{22 23 24 25}

In response, Kanter Freedom claimed the NBA had encouraged him to be more vocal on social issues stating “NBA made me do this…[e]very time when one of the NBA teams or the commissioner comes out to speak, they say we are encouraging players to talk about whatever they want.” ²⁶ Later in February 2022, Kanter Freedom was traded to the Houston Rockets and immediately released; he has continued to criticize the PRC and the shoe development company Nike. ^{27 28}

2020 Social Activism

In 2020, during the NBA’s “Bubble Season,” so named for player-isolation protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA began placing the message “Black Lives Matter” on the courts of several national stadiums following the police-involved death of George Floyd that year. In addition, roughly 30 slogans and social advocacy statements were approved to be placed on player jerseys in place of the player’s number and name, including “Black Lives Matter,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and “Anti-Racist.”  ^{7 8 9}

Leadership

As of 2026, Adam Silver was commissioner of the NBA, a position he assumed in 2014 when he succeeded David Stern. ¹⁴ Silver previously worked in several NBA positions including deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, president and chief operating officer of NBA entertainment, NBA chief of staff, and special assistant to the commissioner. As of 2026, he sat on the board of trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation, chaired of the Duke University board of trustees; and was a board member of the Paley Center for Media; and he was previously a member on the Council on Foreign Relations. ^{14 29}