MACAU — The NBA brought star-studded lineups to Macau this week for the league’s return to China after six years but many of the biggest wins happened off the basketball court, industry insiders and experts told AFP.

Thousands of fans cheered Friday as the Phoenix Suns — led by four-time NBA All-Star Devin Booker — beat the Brooklyn Nets, with celebrities such as David Beckham, actor Jackie Chan and Alibaba founder Jack Ma in front-row seats.

It heralded the NBA’s return to China for the first time since being effectively frozen out of the country in 2019 after a team official tweeted support for democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Hours after Friday’s pre-season match at a sold-out Venetian Arena, US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 per cent tariff on China, underscoring the volatile backdrop of the NBA’s detente with Beijing.

Even so, the NBA and star players are rushing back to the post-pandemic Chinese market, with LeBron James and Stephen Curry visiting the country this year to hawk their brands.

“One thing a lot of the athletes would say is that everyone read about James Harden coming to China (in 2023), selling his wine and selling out in like 60 seconds,” said Michael Lin, a VP at sports digital agency Mailman, an IMG company.

Booths near the arena showed off the NBA’s Chinese brand partners, including e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, live-video app Kuaishou and dairy giant Mengniu, as well as merchandise aimed at younger consumers.

David Leiner, president of trading cards for Fanatics Collectibles, said the company recently started selling China-specific NBA card packs in more than 30 cities, adding that the 10 yuan (RM5.90) entry price point was “critical”.