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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and on-court legend Charles Barkley defended the league's handling of its controversy over China, hours after Vice President Mike Pence accused it of “acting like a wholly owned subsidiary” of the country's Communist Party. Pence ripped the NBA and sportswear giant Nike on Thursday during a speech outlining the Trump administration's current approach to ongoing negotiations toward a trade agreement with Beijing. Speaking at the Wilson Center in Washington, Pence accused both entities of choosing their business interests in China over American values. Continue to Article

October 25, 2019 10:08:am EST

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has a blunt message for Vice President Mike Pence, who on Thursday criticized the NBA over the issue of China. Vice President Pence needs to shut the hell up,” Barkley said during a pregame broadcast on Thursday night. Pence said the NBA was acting like a “wholly owned subsidiary” of China after the league failed to defend Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey for a tweet in defense of Hong Kong protesters, which triggered anger in Beijing. Continue to Article

October 25, 2019 1:00:am EST

Houston Rockets will need to win a lot of games with James Harden and Russell Westbrook at the helm in order to save Daryl Morey's job. Perhaps that's why the Rockets wanted to kick things off in a big way on Thursday night as they opened the season at home in Houston. Part of the Rockets celebration for the first home game was rolling out the red carpet. Continue to Article

October 24, 2019 11:00:pm EST

A group of 30 fans at the Houston Rockets' season opener against Milwaukee held signs and wore shirts in support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong on Thursday night. Houston general manager Daryl Morey angered China with a since-deleted tweet in support of the protesters earlier this month. Wednesday's opening-night games were not televised in China in the wake of Morey's tweet that caused tension between the NBA and Chinese officials. Continue to Article

October 24, 2019 9:47:pm EST

Vice President Mike Pence is speaking out about the NBA-China controversy — and he's not happy with the basketball league. The vice president accused the league of “siding with the Chinese Communist Party and silencing free speech. Some of the NBA's biggest players and owners, who routinely exercise their freedom to criticize this country, lose their voices when it comes to the freedom and rights of other peoples,” said Pence. Continue to Article

October 24, 2019 4:09:pm EST