Business
NBA looks to China for growth, renewing a foothold in its second-largest market
Michael Porter Jr. #17 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots the ball during practice and media availability as part of 2025 NBA Global Games China at Venetian Arena on October 9, 2025 in Macao, China.
Ryan Stetz | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
MACAO — The National Basketball Association returns to China for the first of two Macao games on Friday, and the impact extends beyond the preseason.
The weekend marks a major milestone for the NBA, as years of rebuilding its relationship with its second-largest market culminate with the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets facing off in the Venetian Arena here. For the NBA, it could mean unlocking future growth in China as television viewership declines in the U.S.
The NBA’s return to China comes after a six-year hiatus following 2019 comments by Daryl Morey, then-Houston Rockets general manager, voicing support for Hong Kong protestors and setting off an international crisis. For the next three years, the league was largely absent from Chinese airwaves in China. Nearly every Chinese sponsor cut ties with the NBA.
But the NBA’s history in China dates back to the 1970s. Since 1979, the NBA and USA basketball have played a total of 48 games in China, according to NBA data. Demand for the 2025 Macao games, set for Friday and Sunday, was high: At the upper end, tickets were going for more than $3,000.
And there are signs of progress off the court, too.
The league on Thursday announced a renewed partnership with Alibaba, making the tech company’s cloud unit the official cloud computing and AI partner of NBA China. The partnership already included a dedicated NBA section across Alibaba platforms that allow fans in China to engage in content or shop for NBA merchandise.
Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai owns the Nets.
The NBA is hoping to tap into basketball fans among China’s 1.4 billion-person population as the league grapples with cord-cutting and changing viewership habits at home. Last season, television viewership dipped.
Meanwhile, in China, the NBA has won a massive fan base. It’s the most-followed sports league on social media, according to the league, with 425 million followers across league, team and player platforms. To put that number in perspective, that’s more than the entire population of the United States.
The league has also been investing in infrastructure in China. It now has four flagship stores, 45 NBA kids stores, seven NBA e-commerce flagship stores and more than 5,000 partner retail stores across the country.
“We’ve created a lot of fan experiences here, and the goal is to really make something special where the fans of the NBA in Asia and China can really get a true taste of what the NBA has to offer,” said Patrick Dumont, Dallas Mavericks owner and Las Vegas Sands president, who was an architect of the NBA’s return to China. Las Vegas Sands owns the Venetian in Macao, where the two preseason games will be played.
To raise awareness and give back to the local communities, the league has hosted more than 140 community outreach events and built 100 spaces for children and family to learn, live and play in China since 2004. More than 400 current and former NBA players have participated in this program.
This week, the Nets are hosting 13 youth clinics across Hong Kong and Macao, in addition to a basketball court refurbishment project in Hong Kong.
It’s not just at the league level where professional basketball is tapping into China’s potential. At least seven NBA teams and 10 individual players are working with East Goes Global, a marketing and consulting firm that bridges the western brands with Chinese audiences.
“We’re able to localize a ton of their western-facing content, creating new, unique content, even showing up to a lot of the team’s media days to shoot China specific content,” said Andrew Spalter, founder and CEO of the company.
East Goes Global, run by brothers Andrew and Matthew Spalter, also works directly with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson to grow his international profile in China.
“Jalen is actively speaking to his Chinese audience more so than most athletes have ever done in the past. He’s trying to learn calligraphy, he’s eating Chinese foods, he’s collaborating with Chinese influencers and celebrities,” said Matthew Spalter, chief operating officer at East Goes Global.
Dumont said the Macao games are part of a multi-year deal and that executives are already thinking about next year.
“I think it’s the classic win, win, win,” he said. “It’s great for the NBA because it gets to bring its best product, top teams, real games, real experiences, and it allows local fans who maybe don’t have the ability to get to the U.S. to get to experience the NBA and see basketball played at the highest level.”
The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
Business
Gold price today: How much 22K, 24K gold cost in Delhi, Patna & other cities – Check rates – The Times of India
Gold prices climbed to a fresh lifetime high in the domestic market on Thursday amid sustained buying by jewellers and stockists, according to the All India Sarafa Association.Gold advanced by Rs 800 to hit a new peak of Rs 1,47,300 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), extending gains for the fifth consecutive session. The yellow metal had closed at Rs 1,46,500 per 10 grams in the previous session.Since the start of 2026, gold prices have surged Rs 9,600, or around 7 per cent, supported by persistent demand in the physical market. In overseas trade, spot gold slipped USD 12.22, or 0.26 per cent, to USD 4,614.45 per ounce, after having touched a record high of USD 4,643.06 per ounce in the previous session.Here is how much gold costs in major Indian cities today:
Gold price in Delhi today
The price of 22K gold in Delhi is Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Chennai today
In Chennai, 22K gold costs Rs 13,290 per gram, up Rs 10, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,498 per gram, higher by Rs 10.
Gold price in Mumbai today
Mumbai markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold stands at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Ahmedabad today
In Ahmedabad, 22K gold is priced at Rs 13,130 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,323 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Kolkata today
Kolkata markets price 22K gold at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold stands at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Jaipur today
In Jaipur, 22K gold costs Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Hyderabad today
Hyderabad sees 22K gold at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Bhubaneswar today
Bhubaneswar markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Patna today
In Patna, 22K gold costs Rs 13,130 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,323 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Lucknow today
Lucknow markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
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