AP Fans wait in line to purchase team merchandise outside Saitama Super Arena before an NBA preseason basketball game between the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors in Tokyo on Tuesday. AP Former NBA headline player Yao Ming is now head of the Chinese Basketball Association, which announced over the weekend it is suspending its ties with the Houston Rockets. Chinese sponsors including sportswear maker Li Ning Co. have already suspended ties with the Rockets and broadcasters stopped airing their games. AP NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a welcome reception for the NBA Japan Games 2019 between the Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets in Tokyo on Monday. China's love of the NBA has only grown since: 800 million people now watch its programming on various platforms every year.

Source: Stuff October 08, 2019 07:35 UTC