NBA holds court in Macao

With Kyrie Irving's long-anticipated return and Kevin Durant's star power setting Macao abuzz, the 2026 NBA China Games have once again consolidated the league's robust presence in its biggest international market.

By bringing in two franchises that both enjoy strong ties with the country, the 2026 NBA China Games tour, held in the special administrative region for a second straight year, has provided even greater fanfare than last year's showpiece, after the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks split two games on the league's 15th preseason trip to China.

Drawn by his first game in 19 months, after a lengthy recovery from a knee injury, Irving's vocal supporters, draped in Dallas blue and wearing cowboy hats, lit up the packed Venetian Arena from the tipoff on Sunday night, as Irving scored a layup in the opening possession to set the tone for a team-high 17 points in the Mavericks' 132-115 win over the Rockets.

Irving's strong comeback made up for the no-show of his All-Star counterpart Durant, who skipped the second game after having led the Rockets as they blasted the Mavericks 135-117 by scoring 15 points on the opening night of the two-game series on Friday.

The two exhibitions capped off a five-day hoops festival that took the city by storm, as a glittering cast of NBA stars that also included Dallas'2025-26 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, Houston's Turkish center Alperen Sengun and veteran guard Fred VanVleet drew massive fan turnouts wherever they appeared.

Lengthy queues of fans donning their favorite players' jerseys snaked past the entrance of NBA House — a free, interactive fan carnival staged at The Venetian Macao — before each game, eager to catch a glimpse of their idols during meets-and-greets with visiting NBA legends, such as Ray Allen, the league's all-time third-highest-ranked 3-point shooter, Chris Bosh, an 11-time league All-Star and Jeremy Lin, an Asian fan favorite.

Outside the arena, fans also trailed the players across the city to each of their endorsement events, team photo calls and media interviews, gathering at their hotel lobby for autographs and photos day and night.

They knew it would be crazy before arriving, but the energy surrounding their games in Macao still managed to blow the minds of even the most sought-after stars.

"Huge thank you to all my China fans who showed up outside of the hotel, giving me a lot of love, always feeling unconditional support," Irving said during the post-game news conference on Sunday.

After Thursday's practice, reflecting on his long-held ties with China through the fans and partnerships with local sponsors, Irving said: "You just always want to make sure that you perform well for the people who love you ... I love to humanize my connection with my supporters, always making them feel they were acknowledged.

"I've been coming here since I was 19, so this is an honor that I carry with me, just being aware of the support that I've enjoyed from here and having developed a lot of relationships over here.

"Coming back here feels like a second home now."

The Rockets, however, had expected more of a "home team" reception coming in, with the franchise's 2002 top draft pick Yao Ming, a basketball Hall of Famer hailing from Shanghai, cheering them on courtside.

Having retired in 2011, Yao's towering influence in helping promote NBA basketball in China, while enhancing sports exchanges between China and the United States, has been hailed by the younger Rockets.

"I think we all know how big the Rockets are in China," said Houston's veteran guard VanVleet, who also made a strong comeback from a torn right ACL by scoring 17 points to go with seven assists in his team's opening win on Friday.

"Yao was a legend and just a great ambassador for us. And, obviously, the fans are very passionate and crazy about Kevin (Durant) as well, so that definitely helps (us) earn great support. It's been an incredible trip and we're having a lot of fun."

The Mavericks have also played a pioneering role in introducing Chinese talent to the NBA by selecting former Team China center Wang Zhizhi with the 36th overall pick in the 1999 draft.

Two years later, Wang was allowed to join the club and became the first-ever Chinese player to compete in the NBA on April 5, 2001.