The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns are resting up Tuesday at their Macao hotel — the five-star St. Regis — after grueling flights across the Pacific that had them arrive in the early morning hours to the cheers of fans and snaps of cameras.
They will need the rest!
The teams face off Friday and Sunday in games that begin at 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. New York time on NBA TV, but even before that, they’ll have full schedules of promotional events,
starting with team photos on Wednesday and an open practice Thursday at the Venetian Macao where the games will be played. There’ll be a Media Day and an NBA Cares event on Thursday and an “innovation summit” on Friday afternoon, Macao time, where Joe Tsai can be expected to speak. Then pre-game, there will be interviews with Jordi Fernandez and Jordan Ott, the former Nets assistant now running the Suns.
Also Wednesday will see the opening of NBA House, an “immersive” fan experience that will see former NBA stars including two former Nets point guards — Stephon Marbury and Deron Williams — greet fans and sign autographs. Fanbo Zeng, the Nets Exhibit 10 signing, will also be posing and signing at a Fanatics event.
Sometime over the course of the four days, Adam Silver is expected to speak and is likely to make some news. On Saturday, between the two games, it will be NBA Fan Day at the Venetian. Making it even more stressful for all involved is that the two teams will be dealing with 12- (Brooklyn) and 15-hour (Phoenix) time differences. Jet lag doesn’t begin to describe it.
And that’s the NBA menu! The Nets have their own promotions. Indeed, Joe Tsai’s “investment” in the NBA China Games isn’t limited to what he’ll see on the court at the Venetian. The Games are “presented” by Taobao 88 VIP, a exclusive membership offering being rolled out by Taobao, the Alibaba-owned online shopping platform. Buy a VIP membership and get all manner of exclusives.
In its build-up to the Games, Taobao 88 VIP pushed Nets tie-ins including a meet-and-greet with Vince Carter and opportunities to pick up all sorts of China Nets gear…
In a video posted on Weibo, the big Chinese social media site, VC explained it all and noted the Taobao 88 VIP members can even get exclusive access to training videos featuring the Nets assistant coaches!
If that wasn’t enough, the Nets and specifically the Brooklynetts dance team are partnering with China’s global multimedia company, Tencent, on a six-episode reality show to pick the first-ever Brooklynettes China Dance Team, “CheersNets,” who will perform in Macao. The team will be chosen Thursday night from this group and will perform Friday night. More promotion, more video.
In another words, it’s a big deal if exhausting deal but certanly not a surprise.
The Games are the NBA’s first time back in China since 2019 when geopolitics overwhelmed basketball leading to a cold war between the league and people’s republic. After then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweeted support for pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, China outlawed broadcasts of NBA games for three years. Fans could only catch glimpses of their favorites in highlight packages. China saw it as a national security issue … and an opportunity to let a celebrated multi-national firm know who’s boss.
Then this summer, a parade of NBA stars and superstars traipsed across China’s big cities selling sneakers and other product, a further signal the cold war was thawing. LeBron James, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green and ex-Net D’Angelo Russell all made high-profile appearances before adoring fans. Wemby even spent 10 days at a Shaolin Temple, shaved head and all, while pushing Louis Vuitton! The popularity of the NBA in China cannot be underestimated and it can’t hurt that the team with the most trips to Chinese cities — eight games in four trips over the past 15 years — has an increasingly large presence and owners proud of their Chinese heritage.
For diehard Nets fans, the Games themselves will be less of a promotional event than a chance to see their team face off against another NBA team after destroying an Israeli team Saturday at Barclays Center. Drake Powell, the hyper athletic 20-year-old rookie, is likely to make his NBA debut after missing Summer League and a lot of training camp with left knee tendinopathy.
In the meantime, enjoy the hype.
