The NBA will stage two preseason games in Macao next October, its deputy commissioner said on Friday, marking its return to China after being frozen out for more than five years.

No NBA games have been held in China since two preseason contests in 2019 after a tweet from then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey supporting pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Morey posted an image bearing a slogan used by demonstrators urging the world to "Stand with Hong Kong."