NBA China: $20M Yang Hansen Deal & $5B Business Impact

Compared with Chinese player Yang Hansen entering the NBA (American Professional Basketball League), today’s NBA may also urgently need the joining of a Chinese face, so that it can be closer to Chinese fans.

After nearly 20 years, the NBA first-round rookie has appeared again as a Chinese. Recently, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Yang Hansen with the No. 16 draw obtained from the Memphis Grizzlies. In any case, the 20-year-old Chinese basketball player Yang Hansen deserves to be recorded in the history of Chinese basketball. Someone who has been close to Yang Hansen commented to the reporter, “Xiao Yang is really the younger generation. He does have potential and has a very humble and cute personality.”

For many insiders and basketball enthusiasts, although it was unexpected that the NBA was able to sign Yang Hansen this time, it was not very sudden.

In fact, when the NBA China event was restarted last year, NBA vice president Mark Tatum said in an interview with the media that the NBA can and should invest more resources in Chinese basketball to promote its development. “We hope to work together to deliver and train more Chinese players to the NBA.”

For the NBA, it is not a “lose deal” to include the aforementioned young and highly promising young Chinese player under his command with a contract of more than $20 million.

According to third-party data, up to 90% of Chinese adult basketball viewers will watch the NBA, which is much higher than that of Europe and even the United States. As the largest overseas market in the NBA, China has surpassed the United States. Today, the NBA’s business in China is worth up to $5 billion.

Develop the Chinese market

As early as the 1970s and 1980s, some Chinese people began to come into contact with the NBA.

The reporter sorted out some public information and found that the NBA’s exchanges with Chinese fans and basketball have a long history. In 1979, the Washington Bullets (now the Wizards) came to China to participate in two exhibition games, becoming the first NBA team to visit China.

In 1987, the NBA reached a deal with CCTV, which was to provide CCTV with videotapes of game materials for the latter to play. Since then, Chinese audiences have gradually entered the NBA world. This is also the first time that Chinese fans have actually seen a clip of an NBA game. They did not expect basketball can still play so fancyly.

In 1988, CCTV broadcast the NBA Finals for the first time in the country through videotapes. Starting from 1990, the NBA will compress a game into an hour of videotape, and then mail it to CCTV for free with music. In 1994, CCTV broadcast the NBA All-Star Game and Finals live on satellites. Chinese fans watched the live broadcast of NBA games on TV for the first time. The names of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, “Magician” Johnson and others gradually entered the vision of Chinese fans and almost became household stars.

On June 26, 2002, the NBA ushered in a historic moment. Yao Ming, a young basketball player from Shanghai, was selected as the No. 1 pick at the draft that year, becoming the first international No. 1 pick in NBA history and the only No. 1 pick in NBA draft in Chinese basketball so far.

Data shows that in Yao Ming’s first season, the NBA signed contracts with 12 regional TV stations in China, and the number of game broadcasts doubled compared to before, reaching 170 times. As Yao Ming gained a foothold in the NBA and became an All-Star star, there are more and more Chinese basketball fans. According to official NBA statistics, from Yao Ming’s entry into the NBA to his retirement, the league has added a total of 370 million spectators.

Former NBA president David Stern once commented on Yao Ming, “Yao Ming is a bridge for basketball exchanges between China and the United States, and also a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and the United States.”

In 2011, Yao Ming retired. In the same year, New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin once again set off a Yao Ming-style basketball craze. “Lin Lai Crazy” has caused the NBA’s momentum in China to surge again.

According to public data statistics, in the past 20 years, there have been many Chinese players who have played basketball in the NBA. In addition to Yao Ming, there are also Chinese players such as Wang Zhizhi, Bater, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Zhou Qi, Cui Yongxi.

More Chinese players will play in the NBA

Thanks to the leadership of a number of Chinese players such as Yao Ming, the NBA’s influence in China is becoming stronger and stronger.

Since 2004, the NBA has moved the preseason to China and has selected two teams to play in China every year. In 2004, when Yao Ming gained a foothold with the Rockets, the NBA sent the Rockets to China to play, and the opponent was the Kings led by stars such as Weber and Peja.

The two games held in Shanghai and Beijing were a great success, which also made Chinese fans watch NBA games up close for the first time.

China tournament is widely sought after, and tickets are often hard to come by. It can be said that the NBA China Game has also become one of the driving forces of the NBA’s development in China.

The “2025 NBA Global and Chinese Market Analysis” report by the Forward Industry Research Institute shows that as the largest overseas market in the NBA, China has surpassed the United States. The NBA’s Chinese business is worth US$5 billion, and its revenue sources include copyright broadcast fees, China competitions, sponsorships and franchise rights.

In the past few years, due to various reasons, NBA Chinese events have been paused. But on December 6, 2024, NBA Vice President Mark Tatum, Suns Executive Vice President Dan Costello, andBrookeKatherine Carlson, executive vice president of global cooperation for Lin Nets, and others jointly announced the return of the NBA China Championship at the Venetian Variety Hall in Macau. The NBA and Sands China have become a five-year cooperation and will continue to implement the NBA China Championship in Macau. Sands is responsible for providing a series of assistance such as funds and venues. October 10 and 12, 2025BrookeLin Nets and Phoenix Suns will play two preseason games at the Venetian Variety Hall.

Mark Tatum said in an interview with the media that the NBA can and should invest more resources in Chinese basketball to promote its development. He thinks Choi Yongxi is a good case. Choi Yonghee went to the NBA for trial and participated in the NBA Summer League in the 2024 summer offseason, and eventually signed a two-year two-way contract with the Nets. But unfortunately, he left the team due to injury in December of that year.

Although it has been six years since the market appeal of the NBA China Championship is still well recognized. According to the information currently released, the 2025 China Championship has signed 88VIP, Ant International, including Sands China, Alibaba Group andCtripMengniu,Nikeand other brands as sponsors.

In 2020, Tencent signed a five-year, US$1.5 billion broadcast contract with the NBA. In 2024, the two parties renewed their contract for another two years, and the latest cooperation was signed in the summer of 2027. This is also the largest broadcast contract in the NBA overseas market.

In the Chinese market in the future, there will still be four platforms, Tencent Sports, Migu Sports, CCTV and BesTV, to participate in the NBA broadcast, with no concerns in the amount of exposure.

It is worth mentioning that Chinese capital will also appear behind the Nets that will appear in this year’s preseason.AlibabaGroup Chairman Cai Chongxin spent a huge sum of US$2.35 billion twice in 2018 and 2019 to take control of the Nets from the rich Russian businessmen. With the team’s lineupluxuryAs the upgrade comes, the Nets’ market value has also risen. In 2024, the Koch family acquired 15% of the equity of BSE Global, the Nets’ parent company, at a valuation of US$688 million. In addition, the Koch family also offered a quotation of US$5.8 billion to Cai Chongxin, hoping to completely win the Nets.

Perhaps because of this relationship, before the Trail Blazers signed Yang Hansen this time, there were rumors that the Nets would “guaranteed” Xiao Yang and eventually sign him away. However, the Trail Blazers eventually signed Yang Hansen. According to data released by the NBA salary website, Yang Hansen’s contract is a “2+1+1” structure (guarantee for the first two years, team options for the next two years), and the four-year contract salary is as high as US$21.39 million. Specifically, in the 2025/2026 season, his salary was US$4.42 million; in the 2026/2027 season, his salary increased to US$4.64 million; in the 2027/2028 season, his salary will reach US$7.46 million.

Yao Ming also sent his blessings to Yang Hansen and all Chinese players who were striving for the NBA the day before the draft began. “I think no matter what the result of tomorrow’s draft is, they must remember one thing. Drafts are just a small part of their entire career and their entire life. Let’s go the following part and come on,” said the Chinese basketball superstar.

The aforementioned report believes that the current domestic attention to the NBA is mainly reflected in the “fan economy”. Judging from the number of fans of the East and West All-Star players in the 2024/2025 season, domestic Chinese fans currently mainly support stars such as Curry and Durant. These stars face greater possibility of retirement in the next three years, while the new generation of stars has relatively few fans. Under such circumstances, the traffic of the NBA in China may show a significant short-term decline in the future. The market in China faces many uncertainties and needs to dig deep into the influence of the new generation of stars to consolidate the business territory.