Alibaba's vice president joins NBA board of directors

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Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai, vice president of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, has officially joined NBA's board of directors as owner of the Brooklyn Nets, announced the league's commissioner Adam Silver at the NBA China Game 2018 press conference in Shanghai on Friday.

"Tsai has a dual background in the Internet and e-commerce sector. We welcome him to join the NBA board of directors, which will help NBA develop better in China," said Silver.

Earlier this year, Tsai paid one billion US dollars for 49 percent of the Nets' shares in an individual investment, which is also the biggest Chinese investment in NBA history. "As a lifelong sports fan, I am very honored to be a Nets shareholder and join the NBA family. Basketball is a worldwide sport and I hope to bring the special charm of the NBA and Brooklyn Nets to the world," said Tsai.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at the press conference for the NBA China Game 2018 in Shanghai on Friday /VCG Photo

Scott O'Neil, CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers told First Financial that he and Tsai already discussed multiple investment projects by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) in China.

Moreover, Commissioner Silver spoke highly of Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association and Hall of Famer. Silver recalled that Yao and his Houston Rockets played the first China Game with the Sacramento Kings in 2004 and sent his congratulations to Team China for bagging all four basketball gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games.

Silver (L) and Yao Ming (R) speaking at the FIBA World Basketball Summit 2018 /VCG Photo

Silver said that both him and Yao agreed that the NBA and CBA should cooperate more to help develop more elite players. They also talked about the coming 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup to be held in China. The NBA Commissioner believes that the event will bring the world's focus onto China and help the country's basketball development.

The two basketball bosses also discussed the possibility of building "basketball diplomacy," like China's "ping-pong diplomacy" 40 years ago. Silver said that basketball can play a special role in connecting different cultures and promoting people-to-people exchanges and NBA is willing to see basketball working as a bridge between Chinese and American people.