LOS ANGELES _ Their first 24 hours in China were nothing like the Los Angeles Lakers or Brooklyn Nets expected.
Suddenly, the global politics NBA teams rarely think about had been thrust to the forefront of their daily lives. Sponsors canceled some scheduled events. The Chinese government canceled others. When a charity event on Wednesday was nixed, the Lakers started to realize the seriousness of the situation.
Players didn't know if their conversations were truly private. They were on the ground in a country where the government does not tolerate dissent, the media is censored by the state and whose human rights record has drawn the ire of the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Twitter and Google are blocked from the internet, dozens of surveillance cameras sit perched above every public street.
It was under these circumstances that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and several league officials held a meeting with the Lakers, the Nets, executives from both teams and a representative from the NBA players' union. Silver wanted to know how they felt.
During a tense week, only three media interviews occurred. Starting Tuesday, no players, coaches, team or league executives conducted any on-the-record interviews. Several people with knowledge of the situation agreed to speak with the Los Angeles Times if their identities remained anonymous.
Here's why the league was mostly silent in China and how the week unfolded.
