ESPN analysis: NBA owners, mum on China relationship, have more than $10 billion invested there
An ESPN examination found that 40 principal NBA owners hold a collective $10 billion-plus worth of investments in China, giving them ample reason to avoid upsetting the nation's authoritarian rulers.
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NBA owners had remained largely silent throughout the ban, even as the league worked behind the scenes to repair a ruptured relationship that had cost hundreds of millions of dollars and laid bare the complexities of doing business with an authoritarian regime.
The owners had reason to stay quiet: In addition to the money their teams derive from the NBA's $5 billion business in China, many have significant personal stakes there through their other businesses.
ESPN examined the investments of 40 principal owners and found that they collectively have more than $10 billion tied up in China -- including one owner whose company has a joint venture with an entity that has been sanctioned by the U.S. government.
The owners' myriad ties to the world's second-largest economy leave their businesses vulnerable if they get on the wrong side of the Chinese government or the public there, according to the analysis.