The NBA has announced a new multi-year deal with Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant, as the top basketball league prepares to stage its first games in the country in six years.
Through the collaboration, which makes Alibaba Cloud an official cloud computing and AI Partner of the league’s NBA China arm, the firm will develop applications to enhance live game viewing and other fan engagement experiences, including in conjunction with NBA All-Star, the playoffs, and the finals.
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NBA China will utilize Alibaba Cloud’s AI and cloud computing services to support its digital fan engagement initiatives, including the development of a proprietary AI model.
The proprietary AI model, featuring the league’s range of digital assets, will provide NBA App users in China with content including real-time game highlights, historical basketball data, player insights, and interactive discussions on trending basketball topics.
In addition, Alibaba Cloud will debut a Real-Time 360 Replay Solution at The NBA China Games 2025, providing fans with AI-powered visual enhancements to replay highlights.
As part of the tie-up, NBA China will also use Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure to host its digital platforms, including the NBA App, the league’s official website in China, and NBA China mini-programs.
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By GlobalDataThe announcement was made by Alibaba Group chairman and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai and NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum before the NBA China Games, which will see the Nets face the Phoenix Suns in two preseason games tomorrow and Sunday in Macau, the first time the league will play in the Chinese special administrative region.
Tsai said: “It is an exciting time at the intersection of sports and technology. AI and cloud technologies are enablers of connection—between player and fan, brand and consumer, global vision and local culture.
“By collaborating with NBA China and introducing Alibaba’s latest innovations, we are here to excite NBA fans through the enablement of exceptional experiences that they’ve never seen before.”
Tatum added: “Our collaboration with Alibaba Cloud reflects our commitment to using the latest technology to engage the hundreds of millions of NBA fans in China in new and creative ways.
“We look forward to working with Alibaba Cloud to transform how fans across the country watch and experience the game in the years to come.”
The NBA has not played any games in China since 2019, following a dispute with the country after a controversial tweet by former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey (now with the Philadelphia 76ers) supporting anti-government protests in Hong Kong, another special administrative region of China.
In the aftermath, Beijing suspended the broadcast of NBA games, prompting corporate sponsors to flee and the league to suffer what it described at the time as dramatic financial consequences. Preseason NBA games in China were also scrapped.
The financial impact of Morey’s actions was laid bare by the NBA in 2021 after it revealed a $200 million "net negative impact" in revenues from its business in China.
The dispute between the NBA and China grew after the league refused to sanction Morey and grant a request to fire him, which put the league’s business in the country at risk.
