NBA Signs Multi-Year AI Partnership With Alibaba as League Returns to China After Six-Year Hiatus

Key Takeaways

The National Basketball Association has partnered with Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group in a multi-year deal as the league stages its first games in the country since 2019, marking a significant return to one of its most valuable international markets.

Under the partnership announced Thursday, Alibaba Cloud will become the official cloud computing and AI partner of NBA China, providing artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to enhance fan experiences on the NBA app in China.

The deal includes the development of applications utilizing Alibaba's proprietary AI model based on its Qwen series of foundational models.

The NBA will play two preseason games in Macau, the world's largest gambling hub, on Friday and Sunday as part of a five-year contract with Las Vegas Sands' Macau unit Sands China.

The Brooklyn Nets, owned by Alibaba chairman Joseph Tsai, will face the Phoenix Suns in sold-out games at the Sands Venetian property. NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is among the celebrities attending the event.

Rebuilding after political tensions

The league's return follows a tumultuous six-year absence that began with controversy over the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.

The dispute erupted when Houston Rockets then-general manager Daryl Morey posted a message on social media supporting Hong Kong's protesters, prompting Beijing to suspend NBA game broadcasts and causing corporate sponsors to withdraw.

The league described the financial consequences at the time as dramatic, and preseason games in China were scrapped.

The Macau games aim to bolster the NBA's profile in China at a time of rising political tensions between the United States and China. The league estimates that approximately 300 million people in China play basketball, making it a critical market for growth.

New Chinese star emerges

The NBA season arrives with heightened hopes surrounding Chinese rookie Yang Hansen, a 7-foot-1 draft pick selected 16th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.

The center, who averaged 16.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks last season for the Qingdao Eagles in China's top professional league, expressed enthusiasm about the NBA's return to his home country.

"I want to say firstly, playing for the Blazers is a wonderful thing for me, and I wish that I can take all the players and management, and coaches to China for sure in the future," Yang said with the support of an interpreter. "For sure, I wish [for] more games in China. … That works for me perfectly."

Yang is the highest-drafted Chinese player since 2007 and has drawn comparisons to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic for his advanced passing ability and basketball IQ.

A free broadcast of Portland's summer league game drew a reported 5.2 million viewers on Chinese platforms, indicating massive interest in the young center's career.

Technology-driven partnership

The Alibaba partnership represents a significant technology collaboration at a time when the United States is deterring cooperation in areas like semiconductors.

Alibaba is one of only a handful of mid-size American firms using the tech giant's cloud services, making the NBA the first prominent U.S. client for Alibaba Cloud.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The partnership comes after the NBA signed an 11-year deal for its U.S. broadcasting rights worth $77 billion last year with Walt Disney's ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, and Amazon Prime Video.

In China, Tencent holds the broadcast rights to NBA games.

The development marks another win for Alibaba Cloud, which has powered strong earnings for Alibaba Group this year.

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