Alibaba founder Jack Ma attended the NBA China Games in Macau, sitting alongside Joe Tsai, Jackie Chan, and David Beckham, local media reports indicate.
Macau Courtside Presence Highlights Alibaba Leadership
Jack Ma appeared courtside at the multi-day basketball event wearing a red shirt, white trousers, and a white baseball cap. David Beckham joined the group in a black leather jacket, while Jackie Chan sat immediately beside Beckham at the arena.
The appearance continues a recurring pattern of high-profile sporting outings for the Alibaba executives. Tsai and Ma have frequently attended NBA fixtures together, including regular-season games in France and successive NBA China Game stops in Macau across 2025 and 2026. Beckham and Chan have similarly made consecutive annual appearances at the Macau tournament, with Beckham sharing photographs of himself and Chan on social media during the 2026 event.
Corporate Partnerships Expand Around Tournament
The high-profile courtside attendance coincides with a broader commercial push by Alibaba divisions into the annual NBA China Games. During the tournament’s initial relaunch window a year prior, NBA China and Alibaba’s cloud computing arm, Alibaba Cloud, established a multi-year partnership designating the tech firm as the league’s official cloud and artificial intelligence partner in China.
That technological agreement utilizes cloud applications and machine learning to manage broadcast operations and fan engagement initiatives across major league fixtures, including the NBA Finals and All-Star weekend. For the 2026 tournament fixtures, Alibaba’s retail platform Taobao served as the event’s premier partner, providing roughly 2,000 members of its 88VIP loyalty program with dedicated seating sections, expedited venue access, and promotional prize draws.
In addition to Taobao’s sponsorship footprint, Alibaba mapping subsidiary Amap joined the tournament as an official partner. Amap deployed digital mapping utilities and ride-hailing interfaces to guide spectators toward the arena, while also introducing robotic mascots and a localized lifestyle market to the interactive NBA House fan zone in Macau.
NBA House Fan Venue Features Markets and Skill Challenges
The Amap-operated lifestyle market opened to the public inside the NBA House fan venue, showcasing regional food vendors from Macau to visiting basketball supporters. The interactive fan zone also featured standard basketball skill challenges, league-licensed merchandise booths, and appearance opportunities alongside former professional players such as Ray Allen, Jeremy Lin, and Carlos Boozer.
