The National Basketball Association is back in China this weekend, with far less drama than during its last visit there, and the league is hoping it stays that way. 

The NBA China games between the Nets and Suns are set for Friday and Sunday in Macao, marking the league’s first games played in China since 2019. Currently unfolding as another international trip to join recent ones to locales such as Paris, Abu Dhabi, and Mexico City, the preseason games in China have a very different feel than when the Nets and Lakers were there six years ago.

Back then, tensions ran high following a tweet by then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey in support of anti-government protestors in Hong Kong. Morey has remained in basketball, and he now has the same role with the 76ers. His comment, however, sparked widespread pushback against the NBA in China, including the removal of games from TV, and gradually rebuilding those ties and the on-air coverage took years. 

To be certain, the relationship with China is still delicate—in no small part because of ongoing trade- and tariff-related issues between China and U.S. President Donald Trump. The NBA, however, remains keenly interested in further developing one of its largest international fan bases.

“There’s no doubt that China has one of the largest fan bases in the world—hundreds of millions of fans in China, 300 million people play the game of basketball in China, and our mission is to inspire and connect people everywhere through the game,” said NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum. 

Added Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., “The China fans, I feel like [they] are some of our biggest supporters. There’s so many fans here. So I think coming out here and being able to play in front of them is definitely a blessing for us and for them.”

That relationship was further burnished with a new sponsorship deal finalized this week between the NBA and Chinese tech giant Alibaba, with the company set to aid new fan experiences in that country through its artificial intelligence and cloud computing technology. Alibaba is led by chairman Joe Tsai, also the Nets’ owner. 

More to Come?

While attending events this week in China preceding the two preseason games, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the trip is a likely forerunner to more such trips to the country.

“There’s tremendous interest throughout China, so it’s wonderful to be back here,” Silver said. 

Beyond the Nets and Suns, there is also an indirect link in these games to the Mavericks, as The Venetian Arena in Macao, where they will be played, is owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. That company’s president and COO is Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont. Macao is a special administrative region within China, and the gambling presence there is far larger than what exists in Las Vegas. 

Last Sunday, rookie Dillon Gabriel became the 41st different quarterback to start a game for the Browns since the franchise reentered the NFL in 1999 (after then-owner Art Modell relocated the team in 1995 to Baltimore, where they became the Ravens).

This week, Cleveland traded veteran Joe Flacco to the Bengals (the first trade between the in-state rivals), making the impact quarterbacks—on and off the roster—are having on the team’s salary cap even more eye-popping.

Heading into their Week 6 game at the Steelers, the Browns have $41.65 million allocated to eight different quarterbacks on their salary cap, but just $2.37 million of that is for active players.

Here’s what the current quarterback situation looks like financially, according to salary-cap figures from Spotrac, for the Browns:

• Deshaun Watson: $35.9 million (on physically unable to perform list)
• Jameis Winston: $2.2 million (dead money)
• Dillon Gabriel: $1.1 million (on active roster)
• Joe Flacco: $999,000 (dead money)
• Shedeur Sanders: $955,000 (on active roster)
• Bailey Zappe: $315,000 (on practice squad)
• Dorian Thompson-Robinson: $171,000 (dead money)
• Kenny Pickett: $8,000 (dead money)

QB Carousel

After selecting Gabriel and Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Browns had five quarterbacks on their roster, including Flacco, Pickett, and Watson. In August, Pickett was traded to the Raiders for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft, and Zappe was signed to the practice squad.

Thompson-Robinson was drafted by the Browns in 2023, but sent to the Eagles in the Pickett trade in March. Winston signed with the Giants in free agency in March.

The earliest Watson could return to the active roster would be next week, although the status of his rehab from a torn Achilles remains unclear. The Browns would have incurred a $172.3 million dead-cap hit had they released Watson this offseason.

Rookie Rivalry

Gabriel will start again Sunday, but Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has not said whether Sanders will be the primary backup or whether Zappe will be elevated from the practice squad to assume that role.

Sanders started the Browns’ preseason opener against the Panthers, a game that drew 2.24 million viewers on NFL Network.

Another big weekend of college football will be marked by highly ranked teams in every major TV window Saturday, and a big opportunity for one broadcaster that’s been greatly impacted by recent media-rights changes.

CBS has the game with the two highest-ranked teams, No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon, marking its best game yet this season. The network is in its second season without SEC rights, as its 3:30 p.m. ET game window now features Big Ten action.

But the top-10 matchup for CBS will have stiff competition from ABC’s broadcast of the Red River Rivalry, featuring No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Texas at the Cotton Bowl, in the same TV slot. Last year, Oklahoma-Texas drew 7.6 million viewers on ABC.

While CBS is paying roughly $350 million annually for its Big Ten package, TV ratings for those games are not at the same level as the SEC on ABC, which are averaging 7.9 million viewers per game in the 3:30 p.m. ET window. (Disney is paying roughly $300 million annually for the top SEC game each week that CBS previously broadcast through 2023.) 

Here are the viewership numbers for the CBS 3:30 p.m. ET window so far this season (and where they ranked in the most-watched games that weekend):

• Michigan-Nebraska (Sept. 20): 5.3 million (3rd)
• Ohio State–Washington (Sept. 27): 5.23 million (4th)
• Penn State–UCLA (Oct. 4): 3.1 million (7th)
• Oklahoma State–Oregon (Sept. 6): 2.32 million (6th)
• Nevada–Penn State (Aug. 30): 2.24 million (11th)

On Sept. 13, USC-Purdue drew 1.42 million viewers, after a rain delay pushed kickoff back more than three hours to 6:45 p.m. ET.

Battle Royale

There will be stiff competition between Big Ten and SEC action on competing networks in all three primary CFB windows Saturday (all times ET).

Noon

• Fox: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 17 Illinois
• ABC: No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri

3:30 p.m.

• CBS: No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon
• ABC: No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Texas

7:30 p.m.

• NBC: No. 15 Michigan at USC
• ABC: No. 10 Georgia at Auburn

Through the first five weeks of the season, college football viewership across all networks had been trending up 10.5% compared to the same period in 2024, to 2.1 million viewers per game.