NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says WNBA games could come to China

MACAO — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday the WNBA could be next to play games in China. 

Silver spoke exclusively with CNBC courtside from the first of two NBA games in Macao. 

“We have to get through a new collective bargaining agreement with our players,” he said. “But once we do, there’s so much interest in women’s basketball here, I think we’d love to bring a WNBA game to Macao or to mainland China.” 

The games this weekend mark the NBA’s return to China after a six-year hiatus. The league is actively trying to grow its footprint in its No. 2 market, where roughly 425 million Chinese follow NBA league, team and player accounts on social media, according to league data.

Silver said his focus now is growing talent in the country. The league announced a partnership Friday with the Chinese Basketball Association to help support the development of elite Chinese players, coaches and referees. 

Sixteen Chinese players have played in the NBA and WNBA, according to the league. 

“Let’s do more to develop the game here, really at the youth level,” Silver said. “If they have Chinese players in the NBA, that takes interest to a whole another level.”