The NBA lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue following a 2019 fallout with China, league Commissioner Adam Silver said this week. 

The conflict arose when then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressed support for anti-government Hong Kong protestors.

Morey, now general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, tweeted in October 2019 an image reading, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.”

He later deleted the tweet, but China still responded by pulling NBA games off CCTV for 18 months – a significant blow to the league’s decades-long partnership overseas. China began airing games again in late March.

Silver told reporters Thursday that the league lost “hundreds of millions” of dollars because of the blackout. He insisted the NBA stands behind its players, coaches and execs when it comes to free speech.

“Others since then have spoken out about their views around China and other places in the world, and if the consequences are that we’re taken off the air or we lose money, we accept that,” the commissioner said.

Hong Kong  was ruled by the British from 1841 to 1997 and has generally enjoyed greater freedoms than the rest of mainland China, which regained control of the city in recent years. 

Silver on Thursday also pushed back on criticism from American pols over the NBA’s business relationship with China, saying the league is just one of many businesses working with the Chinese.

“From a policy standpoint, virtually every Fortune 100 company is doing business in China,” he said. “We have an enormous, humongous trade relationship with China. Virtually all the phones in this room, the clothes you are wearing, the shoes you are wearing, are made in China.

“From a larger societal standpoint, this is something where we have to look to the U.S. government for direction.”

“And if people are suggesting now that we should no longer have trade relations with China, and I don’t think they are, that’s a huge global issue where we will follow the lead from our government,” he added.

Not everyone in the NBA agrees on how to deal with China.

Outspoken ex-Knick and NBA free agent Enes Kanter Freedom is a longtime critic of China over its human rights abuses, and he’s repeatedly called out Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and other athletes over having business relationships with the country.

In 2020, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he’s “against human rights violations around the world” but is cool with doing business with China. 

“We have to pick our battles,” Cuban said on a podcast.

Silver insisted the league’s partnership with China doesn’t contradict its beliefs.

“I think engagement is positive, particularly through sports,” Silver said. “Using sports as a platform to keep people around the world talking is critically important. At the same time, I don’t think it’s inconsistent with our values for our game to be broadcast in China and 200-plus other countries in the world.”

With Post wires.