LeBron James has been in plenty of headlines over the years, but few placements felt as politically charged as this one: “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” an essay under the Akron Hammer’s name, appearing in the Chinese state-run People’s Daily newspaper. Think about that for a second. One of the NBA’s biggest global icons suddenly published a first-person write-up in a paper that’s usually reserved for official messaging? Why? Does Adam Silver have anything to do with it? What does it really mean? And why now? So many questions, but not to worry, I am here to present a timeline of sorts.

To understand this news, you have to go back in time. The NBA and China didn’t just stumble into each other, but they built one of the most lucrative sports relationships on the planet

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