Weighing In On The NBA, China and Reputation

PRCG’s Isaac Benjamin was featured in USA Today discussing the NBA’s continuing issues in China and Hong Kong. In an article highlighting the continuing fallout over an incendiary tweet by the General Manager of the Houston Rockets, the article detailed the reputational damage to the NBA and the issues both sides will face as the NBA season moves forward.

According to USA Today, at stake in the standoff is billions of dollars for both sides and a strong four-decade-long relationship that began with a Washington Bullets exhibition game in 1979. It is a relationship that has multiple layers including Chinese-related business partnerships with NBA players in the millions, a friendship with Basketball Hall of Famer and former NBA All-Star Yao Ming, who is the president of the Chinese Basketball Association and is a vital goodwill ambassador for the NBA in Asia, and millions of fans.

PRCG’s Benjamin believes an answer will be found, given the codependent relationship between China and the NBA.

“The NBA is a big product to China,” Benjamin said. “China has been able to grow its basketball presence, and China wants to be associated with the NBA.”

The full article can be found here.