Dialogue and connection through sports.
The NBA is reiterating its mission to inspire and connect people through the game of basketball amid tensions in various parts of the world.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum emphasized this during a media availability for the international press ahead of the NBA All-Star Weekend.
"I think that opportunity to use sports to create a common language, to create a common understanding around the values of the game, the passion for the game, I think those things can help bridge cultures and not divide cultures," Tatum said, when asked about if the league had concerns about the rise of tension around the world--especially the political ones.
One such example of global tension is the looming trade war between the United States and Canada, after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on goods coming from the neighboring country.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed retaliatory tariffs.
The sentiment has affected sports, as Canadians were seen booing the US national anthem at an NBA game in Toronto.
A similar event occurred in a National Hockey League (NHL) game in Ottawa.🚨🇨🇦 WATCH: Canadians booing the US national anthem at an NBA game in Toronto
— Politics Global (@PolitlcsGlobal) February 2, 2025
pic.twitter.com/tAOvNDuiqA
🚨BREAKING NEWS
— Tablesalt 🇨🇦 (@Tablesalt13) February 2, 2025
CANADIANS BOO THE AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM IN OTTAWA NHL GAME JUST NOW
I have NEVER seen Canadians boo any national anthem....ever before in my entire life. pic.twitter.com/Fx7TXMSioJ
But Tatum emphasized how sports--and basketball in particular--can unite people.
"Our mission is to inspire people and to connect through the game of basketball," he added. "I think sports does that, and I think basketball does that."
"And as the world gets smaller and smaller and smaller, one of the common things that I think brings us all together is a love and a passion for sports," he added.
"You see it on the court where you have the best French players playing against the best German players, against the best Spanish players, against the best Japanese players."
The NBA has prided itself in being a global league, with the 2024-25 season opening with a record-tying 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries across six continents. With this spread, all 30 teams feature at least one international player.
[ALSO READ: By the numbers: NBA continues global growth with record-tying 125 international players]
In the NBA All-Star Game, TNT analyst Charles Barkley even drafted a whole team of Global All-Stars with Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Serbia's Nikola Jokic, Turkey's Alperen Sengun, Cameroon's Pascal Siakam, Dominican Repulic's Karl-Anthony Towns, and France's Victor Wembanyama. Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is sidelined with an injury, would be replaced by Trae Young.
[ALSO READ: NBA All-Star 2025 Philippine guide]
"And so that is the role, that's why we believe in engaging around the world. That's why we believe in creating grassroots opportunities for boys and girls to play around the world," Tatum said.
"When people disagree on certain things, your common passion for sports and your common love for a sport or a player or a team, I think can sometimes help create that dialogue where it might be difficult to have dialogue."
The NBA All-Star 2025 is slated for February 15 to 17, Philippine time. It will be aired on One Sports, NBA TV Philippines, RPTV, and the Pilipinas Live app.
