Report: NBA Strongly Discouraging China Travel Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

The NBA has "strongly discouraged" teams from traveling to China due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to The New York Times' Marc Stein. 

The league office reportedly sent a memo to all 30 teams last week to "clarify" that the coronavirus is "now considered a global health emergency," per Stein.

The coronavirus has infected more than 17,000 people across the world, leading to 361 deaths as of Monday, per the Associated Press. There are 11 reported cases in the United States.

It's been a rocky year for the NBA's relationship with China. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support of protestors in Hong Kong in October, leading to a rift between China and the NBA. China cancelled a pair of NBA Cares events due to Morey's comments, and Chinese television network CCTV suspended all NBA programming.

The NBA still held a pair of preseason games in China in October despite Morey's comments. The Lakers and Nets played a pair of games at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, both of which were won by Brooklyn.