China's CCTV announced it plans to televise Game 5 of the NBA Finals live, the first NBA game on broadcast television there in more than a year.

The state-run network, which started carrying NBA games in the early 1990s, pulled all such games from its programming in the wake of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's tweet supporting protests in Hong Kong on Oct. 4, 2019.

In its statement, CCTV cited the NBA's assistance with fighting COVID-19 in the country as a reason for restoring broadcasts. The league donated more than $1 million and medical equipment to China earlier this year. The league and some players have expressed support for China during the past year.

Source: Brian Windhorst of ESPN

ANALYSIS: This is a huge step towards improving the relationship between China and the NBA after Houston Rockets GM, Daryl Morey, expressed his opinions on the Hong Kong protests last year which were backed by Adam Silver. China cited that the NBA has been sending continuous goodwill and well wishes to them amidst the Pandemic.

This will be the first NBA game that China will televise since the fallout.