It's no secret the NBA is in high demand in China. Over a 36-year span, the NBA has taken part in 152 exhibition games in 20 different countries, but China is the clear-cut international favorite in terms of popularity.

When an NBA game is broadcast in China, the amount of average viewers is over 5 million. To put that in perspective, last year the average amount of viewers watching an NBA game broadcast in the U.S. was only 2 million.

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Furthermore, the NBA has about 80 million fans following its Chinese social media pages. In terms of popularity alone, that makes the NBA China's most popular sports league in the entire country.

The Brooklyn Nets faced off against the Sacramento Kings in exhibition games this week in Beijing. The 18,000-seat MasterCard Center was sold out each game.

The league has received the green light from the Chinese government to promote the NBA within China's national lines. Even China's president, Xi Jinping, seems to be a fan as he was spotted attending a Lakers game in Los Angeles in 2012.

The NBA is continuing to look for ways to expand and reach new audiences in the growing Chinese basketball fan market.

Just a couple months ago, Kobe Bryant helped unveil the first full LCD basketball court ever made in the "Rise Campaign" event in Beijing. The Rise Campaign was a competition held by the NBA for some of the best young basketball players in China.

Just today, the NBA announced its multi-year partnership with China's Ministry of Education. The move is an effort to help create a fitness and basketball development program in all schools across China.

"This partnership complements our long-standing commitment with the Chinese Basketball Association to grow the game in China," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. 

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