NBA boss Adam Silver calls new multi-year deal with CBA a ‘transformational partnership’
Multi-year agreement covers development of players, coaches and referees, with opportunities for national teams to compete in US competitions
More elite basketball players from China could emerge and play professionally in the United States after the NBA announced a multi-year deal with its counterpart, the CBA, on Friday.
Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, called the agreement a “transformational partnership” that would allow China’s next generation to become “the greatest players they can be”.
News of the league’s partnership with the Chinese Basketball Association came hours before the first of the NBA China Games between the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns in Macau.
“This collaboration is a continuation of our long-term efforts to elevate the game of basketball in China at all levels,” Silver said. “We look forward to strengthening our collective commitment to developing the next generation of NBA and WNBA players from China.”
The return of the pre-season encounters in China for the first time since 2019 had already suggested a restoration of the relationship between the NBA and its biggest overseas market was taking place.
While elite player development lies at the heart of the new agreement, the aim is to also raise standards across the sport in China.