Sawt Falasteen - Packed crowd greets NBA return to China after six-year absence

The first of two matches in Macau capped the NBA's bid to mend fences with China, a lucrative market where an estimated 125 million people play basketball.

"The atmosphere is amazing. I've been a Suns fan for a long time," said David Jin, 26, who took a day trip from the nearby Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen.

"The NBA should come to mainland China more often. If it's on my doorstep I'll show up to give my support," Jin said, adding that he spent about 5,000 yuan ($700) for tickets and travel.

Fans in the packed Venetian Arena gave four-time NBA All-Star Devin Booker a roaring reception and also particularly looked forward to seeing China's 22-year-old debutant Nets forward Zeng Fanbo.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver told AFP on Thursday that "there's tremendous interest in the NBA throughout China".

Building on the charm offensive, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said the China trip was in part an opportunity visit and learn about a new culture.

"We are told that we get support from China, a lot of fans watching our games. But the reality is you don't know until you come here," he said.

Also speaking before the game, Suns head coach Jordan Ott said many of his players were travelling to China for the first time.

"Just that excitement when they walk out tonight -- we know it's a packed house -- would be really cool experience for all of us to remember," Ott said.

The Chinese Basketball Association announced a strategic partnership with the NBA on Friday which includes providing opportunities for Chinese teams to take part in the NBA Summer League and WNBA preseason games in the United States, according to state media.

- Rush for tickets -

The NBA's popularity in China took off during the 2000s with the Yao Ming craze, but the relationship soured markedly after a team official tweeted his support for the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

The NBA was effectively frozen out of China and this was the league taking its tentative first steps back in.

Qin Junhong, a 19-year-old studying in Macau, said he remembered little about the row and was just "excited" to attend the game with his friends.

"There were so many people rushing for tickets," Qin told AFP.

Friday's game is part of a multimillion-dollar deal to stage NBA pre-season matches at the Venetian Arena, part of the Las Vegas Sands conglomerate controlled by the Adelson family, who are the majority ownership group in the Dallas Mavericks.

Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal, is a special administrative region of China close to Hong Kong.

Experts say that playing the first NBA games since 2019 in Macau was something of a "soft landing", rather than playing in mainland China.

Ahead of the game, crowds took selfies at NBA-themed booths and shops in a convention hall, with large signs showing the logos of the league's Chinese brand partners.

The Venetian Arena sits at the heart of Macau's upscale hotel-casinos district known as the Cotai Strip, home to a replica Big Ben and Eiffel Tower.

W.Mansour--SF-PST