- Despite threats of a trade war, the NBA hopes to resume their once great relationship with China. Players are leading the way on Chinese social media.
- Stars like Jalen Brunson, James Harden and Tyrese Haliburton have hundreds of thousands of followers on various Chinese accounts.
- The NBA has been trying to repair its relationship with China since 2019. That’s when former Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey sparked a firestorm with a single tweet in support of Hong Kong.
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A trade war may be brewing between the U.S. and China, but the NBA wants nothing to do with it. In fact, the league is looking to expand its relationship with the millions of fans in that country.
Players like New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson are leading the way. He began his foray into Chinese social media in September 2024 with an introductory video on the Chinese version of YouTube.
“What’s up, Bilibili? This is Jalen Brunson. Check me out on Bilibili, and I’m gonna share my podcast and so much more with you all. And we’ll see you soon,” Brunson announced in the video.
Brunson has more than 400,000 followers on various social media accounts in China. According to the New York Times, he is using an outside company to run those accounts, boosting his profile and tapping into a huge market that has been dormant for several years.
What is the NBA hoping to do in China?
The league hopes the relationship with China will eventually return to the heights it once enjoyed in the early 2000s. That’s when center Yao Ming was one of the game’s biggest stars and a direct link between the two countries.
All that went away in October 2019 when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey shared a tweet with the slogan: “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.” The post angered the Chinese government and sparked a geopolitical firestorm that has only recently begun to thaw.
In December 2024, the NBA announced it would return to playing games in China for the first time since 2019 as the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns meet in two preseason games in the Chinese territory of Macao.
How have players been leading the way?
However, NBA players have been faster in jumping on what most believe is once again an “emerging market” for the league. According to the Times, dozens of stars use Chinese social media to boost their profiles and profits. For instance, the Times says Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden sold 10,000 bottles of wine in seconds during a livestream on the platform Douyin. Others have deals with Chinese shoe companies and take tours of the country in the offseason, posting on social media every step along the way.
Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers rode a wave of Chinese fan support to the 2024 All-Star Game, winning so many votes he made the starting lineup. He was asked about Chinese social media support during media day interviews before the game in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“I appreciate the love. It’s super cool to be on Chinese socials. I’m on Douyin, I’m on WeChat, interacting with fans, that means a lot to me,” Haliburton said. “I appreciate that and I feel like it has a lot to do with me being first in fan votes. I know people see a player in Indiana and don’t expect that, but the love I’ve received from my fans in China has been amazing.”
Expect that “love” to grow exponentially in the next few years, at least on social media.