Stern declined to give a dollar figure for the NBA's China business, saying the league's total foreign business is tiny compared to its U.S. revenues. But he added: "Of all the (non-U.S.) countries we're in, China is the largest."

"It's just going to continue to grow. It's a very, still substantially untapped market for us," Stern said.

The NBA has long emphasized expansion in China, where basketball is exploding in popularity among the younger generation. The NBA launched a Chinese-language edition of its official magazine "Hoops" in 1999 and opened its Beijing office three years later.

In 2004, it played its first exhibition games in China, riding a wave of hype tossed up by Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets' Chinese-born center who is one of the country's most popular celebrities and an advertising dynamo. Stern said more China games were planned for next year.

Stern said teams were on the lookout for further Chinese talent, with 19-year-old Yi Jiannian, a 2.12 meter (7-foot, 2-inch) center on the national team generating the most buzz at present.

"My guess and bet is that (Yao) is the first and there will be many more Yao Mings over the next decade," Stern said. "It just stands to reason."

Underscoring the NBA's growing internationalization, Stern said around 100 of the league's 450 players in the coming season would be from outside the U.S.