The National Basketball Association (NBA) has officially announced a multi-year partnership with Alibaba Cloud to power its digital platforms in China, marking a significant step in the league’s renewed engagement with one of its largest global fanbases. The collaboration will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver enhanced fan experiences and real-time digital content for Chinese audiences.
Under the agreement, Alibaba Cloud becomes the official cloud computing and AI partner of NBA China, using its advanced algorithms to enrich the league’s online ecosystem. The technology will generate real-time game highlights, player insights, historical data, and interactive fan discussions, which will be distributed across the NBA’s Chinese platforms and social media channels.
The NBA’s Chinese mobile app and official website will now be hosted on Alibaba’s cloud infrastructure. NBA China will also utilise the company’s AI tools to optimise backend operations and marketing activities, ensuring faster, more personalised engagement with millions of Chinese fans.
The partnership coincides with the NBA’s return to China for the first time since the fallout from former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s 2019 social media post supporting Hong Kong protesters. Despite years of diplomatic tension and public backlash, this new collaboration symbolises a renewed and stabilised relationship between the NBA and China.
This weekend, the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will face off in two preseason games in Macau as part of the ‘NBA China Games’. During the event, Alibaba will showcase a real-time 360-degree replay system that tracks player movement and combines multiple camera angles to create immersive highlight clips.
Fans visiting NBA House will also enjoy interactive experiences such as creating personalised avatars and hearing their voices used to narrate historic NBA moments through AI-generated commentary.
“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,” said Mark Tatum, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer. “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.”
“It is an exciting time at the intersection of sports and technology,” said Joseph Tsai, Alibaba Group Chairman. “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.”
The deal mirrors the NBA’s global technology strategy, similar to its existing partnership with Microsoft, which powers the NBA App and League Pass streaming services. However, this new collaboration with a Chinese technology giant signifies both technological advancement and diplomatic reconciliation.
China remains one of the NBA’s most valuable international markets, with an estimated 300 million people playing basketball. The signing of this deal underscores the mutual interest between the NBA and China in rebuilding ties after years of political strain and pandemic disruption.
For Alibaba, the partnership highlights its growing footprint in global sports, following its high-profile collaboration with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. With its cloud dominance and AI expertise, Alibaba is positioning itself as a key enabler of the next generation of sports fan experiences in China and beyond.
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