NBA in China

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The NBA’s relationship with Chinese basketball dates back to 1979 when the Washington Bullets (now Wizards) traveled to China to play two exhibition games against the Chinese National Team. Since then, the NBA has opened offices in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, built relationships with the NBA’s 24 Chinese broadcast partners, organized dozens of grassroots events while NBA teams signed three players from China. The inaugural NBA China Games 2004 took place on October 14 in Shanghai at the Shanghai Stadium with a capacity of 11,333 seats, and on October 17 in Beijing at the Capital Stadium with a capacity of 17,903 seats.

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Quick Facts

  • Over 300 million people play basketball throughout China.
  • In recent surveys, 83% of Chinese males ages 15-24 said they were NBA fans, more than 40% stated that basketball is their favorite sport to play and four of their top five athletes are NBA players.
  • NBA games are watched by more than 30 million viewers per week in China.
  • NBA.com/China averages over three million page-views per day.
  • NBA merchandise is sold in more than 20,000 locations throughout the country.
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Television/Radio

  • In the 2005-06 season, NBA’s broadcasters in China have increased to 24. Headlined by longtime NBA partner and national broadcaster CCTV, the NBA season is also broadcast on Anhui TV, Beijing TV, Shanghai TV, Guangdong TV, Fujian TV, Hebei TV, Hubei TV, Liaoning TV, Shaanxi TV, Shandong TV, Sichuan TV, Tianjin TV and Zhejiang TV.
  • First-time broadcasters include Chongqing TV, Guangxi TV, Guangzhou TV, Jiangsu TV, Kunming TV, Ningbo TV, Shenzhen TV and Xinjiang TV. The NBA is also available on Radio Guangdong and on NuSports’s website www.nusports.cn.
  • CCTV televises 96 regular season games, the NBA All-Star Game, NBA Playoff games and The Finals.
  • During the 2005-06 season, 6 different games per week are televised in Shanghai, Guangdong, Beijing, Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian and Hubei.
  • A customized version of the NBA lifestyle show "NBA Jam" is available on Shanghai TV, Beijing TV, Guangdong TV, Tianjin TV and Fujian TV
  • NBA programming , NBA Time is available on CCTV5 in 2005-06 season and NBA Action can been seen on Guangdong TV, Jiangsu TV, Kunming TV, Ningbo TV, Shandong TV and Shanghai TV throughout the season.
  • NBA programming in China debuted on CCTV with the 1987 NBA All Star Game.
  • CCTV-China broadcast Game #1 of the 1994 NBA Finals (Houston vs. New York) live on June 8, 1994. The network broadcasted all seven games of the NBA Finals, marking the first time every game of the NBA Finals had ever been carried live in China.
  • NBA commissioner David Stern signed the NBA’s first formal television deal in China during a visit to Beijing in 1989.
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NBA Business Activation

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Consumer Products

  • Starting from November 2005, NBA products include stationary, sport and leisure goods, are available on the NBA Gondola at 24 Carrefour stores in 5 Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Qingdao and Shenzhen.
  • NBA branded basketball shoes by Reebok launched in China in December 2002. In 2003, China became the #1 market for NBA/ Reebok athletic footwear outside North America.
  • The NBA and Reebok signed a new partnership in 2003 with the goal of developing and marketing NBA apparel and accessories throughout Asia. The NBA--Reebok partnership marks the first time that one NBA apparel licensee has covered the entire Asia region. The five-year partnership calls for Reebok to design, manufacture, sell and market official NBA jerseys and shorts, caps, practice wear, off-court lifestyle apparel and a range of related accessory items.
  • There are now over 150 NBA/Reebok shop-in-shops throughout China featuring a full range of NBA apparel, athletic footwear and accessories.
  • China is now Spalding's #1 market outside of North America.
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Marketing Partnerships

  • Homenice Wood Group and the NBA entered multi-year marketing partnership on February 10, 2006. The leading home flooring manufacturer will utilize NBA’s grassroots and media assets to reach target consumers across China.
  • The NBA and Amway, makers of Nutrilite health products, formed a new multi-year marketing partnership in China on August 29, 2005. The agreement brought the league’s Jr. NBA program to middle school students and their families across 15 cities in China from September till November, 2005. The 2005 Jr. NBA China program included basketball training clinics, skills challenge, health seminars conducted by Nutrlite expert and a national middle school basketball tournament.
  • NBA and Nokia announced a multi-year agreement on May 23, 2005 to expand their U.S. relationship into Greater China, marking the first time video content of a North American based sports league will be made available on mobile phones in the region. Nokia participate in China’s first-ever NBA Jam Van held in summer 2005, an NBA touring fan event featuring various basketball activities and NBA-themed attractions
  • The NBA signed a new multi-year marketing partnership agreement with China Mobile Communications Corporation on April 7, 2004. The agreement designates China Mobile as the NBA’s official telecommunications service provider in China.
  • The NBA signed a new multi-year strategic marketing partnership agreement with the Li-Ning Company, which has been a symbol and a leader in China’s sports industry since 1995, on January 18, 2005. The agreement includes NBA Player Endorsements and Community Goodwill Programs and Basketball Participation.
  • The NBA and Red Bull reached a multi-year marketing partnership in China in November 2003. The new agreement designates Red Bull as the NBA’s official sports/energy drink in mainland China, and includes several joint marketing initiatives.
  • NBA marketing partners activate heavily in China, through multiple channels including retail and packaging promotions, event sponsorship, and customized media programming. Key partners include Adidas, Budweiser, China Mobile, Coca-Cola, Li-Ning, Nike, Nokia and Red Bull, among other leading brands.
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Publishing

  • The Chinese version of Inside Stuff debuted in January 2003.
  • NBA Shi Kong (NBA Space & Time), a Chinese version of Hoop magazine, kicked off in May 1999 and currently has a circulation of more than 100,000. It marked the NBA’s first publishing licensing agreement in Asia.
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Interactive

  • NBA.com/china, powered by Sohu, was launched in 2003.
  • In April 2005, the NBA launched the first-ever mobile fantasy sports game developed by Mtone Wireless in China. The first real-time interactive platform between NBA basketball games and NBA fans in China, the Fantasy NBA ‘05 Pick ’N Win game allows users to experience the excitement of the NBA and participate directly through their mobile phone. Users will have the option of playing the game using either SMS (Short message service) or WAP (wireless application protocol) enabled mobile phones.
  • By teaming up with NuSports, NBA programming is now available to fans online at www.nusports.cn. in China starting from February 2006. During the 2005-06 season, a total of 42 NBA games, including regular season and Playoff games, 20 NBA All-Time Greatest and NBA Hardwood Classic games are shown on NuSport’s website www.nusports.cn.
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Media Coverage

  • At the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, a total of 56 media members from the print, TV, radio and internet were on site.
  • The NBA issued 2,753 credentials to media members from 48 countries and territories during the 2004-05 NBA season.
  • During the 2004-05 season, there were 24 Chinese print media members and 13 TV media attending the 2005 All-Star Weekend in Denver; and there were 14 Chinese print media members and 8 TV media members attending the NBA Playoffs.
  • Monthly NBA coverage has reached over 1800 news articles in the 2004-05 NBA season.
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NBA Players

  • Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) was selected by the Houston Rockets as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft 2002. The third Chinese NBA player, Yao played his first regular season game against the Indiana Pacers on October 30, 2002. In 2005 All-Star Game, Yao was selected as the starting center for the third consecutive time. He finished the 2004-05 season with averages of 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and a field goal percentage of .552.
  • Mengke Bateer became the second Chinese player to play in the NBA when he joined the Denver Nuggets on February 27, 2002. The 6-11, 290-pound Bateer had signed with Denver October 2, 2001 but returned to China until re-signing with the Nuggets on February 26, 2002. He appeared in 27 games with the Nuggets, averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per contest. Bateer was traded by the Nuggets to the Pistons – along with Don Reid and a first round pick – in exchange for Rodney White on October 1, 2002. He was later traded to the San Antonio Spurs. He signed with the Toronto Raptors as a free agent on July 17, 2003 and was then traded to the Orlando Magic where he was waived on January 5, 2004. He joined the New York Knicks in October 2004 and was waived later that month. Bateer was later Selected by the Huntsville Flight as 16th overall pick in the 2004 NBDL Draft and joined the team that season. In February 2005, Bateer returned to China to play for Beijing Ducks and was awarded as MVP in the CBA All-Star game. Later in June, Bateer left Beijing for training with the Chicago Bulls and played in the summer league games.
  • Although Wang, Bateer and Yao were the first three players in the NBA from China, the following players are also noteworthy:
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NBA.com

  • The NBA is one of the most popular U.S. based sports internationally and the first and professional sports league in the U.S. to offer international web destinations for fans among English-Language sports league websites.
  • [1], launched in November 1995, currently averages more than 2.2 million daily visits with more than half of its visits coming from fans located outside the U.S and 20% of all traffic coming from fans in China.
  • The NBA’s site for China (NBA.com/china) compliments NBA.com’s eight other international Web sites: Español (NBA.com/español), Brazil (NBA.com/brasil), Japan (NBA.com/japan), Canada (NBA.com/canada), France (NBA.com/france), Germany (NBA.com/germany), Taiwan (NBA.com/taiwan) and the United Kingdom (NBA.com/uk).
  • During the 2004-05 NBA season, NBA.com set the all-time record for traffic to the site with 3.5 billion page views and 527 million visits. As one of the nine international websites of the NBA.com Network, NBA.com/china averaged over 120 million page views and 12.2 million visits a month last season.
  • NBA.com/china unveiled a brand new webpage design with more contents and interactive fans activities to celebrate the tip-off of the 2005-06 NBA season. The new webpage design was launched with new contents including: “I Love This Game Fan Blog”, flash photo section, localized wallpapers, 24 Seconds (short photo feature of the day).
  • Chinese fans will be able to stay close to the NBA anytime and anywhere by downloading the following contents onto their mobile phones from www.wap.nba.com/china: latest news and scores, NBA team logos and selected player images, NBA in-arena music and popular songs. Fans can send messages about the NBA in Chinese to the “Fan Forum” and share their views with other mobile phone users.
  • The first-ever NBA official fantasy game in Chinese - "NBA High Scorers Challenge" went available on NBA.com/China starting from November 2, 2005 and will end on April 20, 2006. Fans can compete with friends and NBA fans in China by picking their own rosters.
  • One day, each month, fans in China can also determine the NBA game broadcast schedule on CCTV 5 throughout the 2005-06 NBA regular season Chinese fans can log onto “NBA Fan Day” voting section on NBA.com/china and vote for their favorite game from the match-ups on that given day. The game with the most votes will be carried live by CCTV 5.
  • The first “NBA Fan Day” online voting of the 2005-06 season was conducted from October 17th to 30th with over 53,000 received. Cleveland Cavaliers @ San Antonio Spurs match-up received the most votes, at 31,880 votes, and the game was carried live at 9:00AM by CCTV 5 nationwide on Saturday, November 5th.
  • On April 2, 2005, NBA Asia hosted the “NBA Fan Day Party" in Beijing together with presenting partners Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co., Sohu, and CCTV5. Around 300 fans gathered and watched the Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Hornets as their match-up of choice in the first-ever NBA Fan Day voting on NBA.com/China.
  • NBA.com/china launched Play-By-Play Game Statistics in Simplified Chinese on April 25, 2005, marking the first time the NBA.com Network provides a real-time text play-by-play service in a language other than English.
  • NBA.com first offered fans comprehensive coverage in Chinese with coverage of the NBA Draft 2002, marking the first time a major professional sports league has dedicated a site solely for Chinese basketball fans. The Chinese draft destination, written in simplified Chinese, mirrored the look of NBA.com’s ultimate NBA Draft 2002 coverage and was accessible through both NBA.com and NBA.com/china.
  • NBA.com and SOHU.com Inc. made a joint announcement on September 14, 2004 for the renewal of their two-year relationship to continue the joint development the NBA’s comprehensive Chinese destination, NBA.com/china and unveil new wireless NBA licensed products and services to the Chinese market. The partnership was first announced on January 15, 2003. The site features audio, statistical and editorial content translated by SOHU, which also hosts, publishes and promotes the site in China. NBA.com/china, written entirely in simplified Chinese characters, provides fans with extensive NBA coverage throughout the season and during the NBA All-Star weekend, the NBA Draft and other special events such as off-season trades and breaking news.
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Grassroots

  • The third consecutive Coca-Cola NBA Jam Session reached three cities in China by tipping off in Chongqing from September 23 to 25, 2005 and traveled to Shanghai from September 30 to October 2. The event then starred in Dalian from October 7 to 9 – the first ever visit by the NBA to this city.
  • NBA Jam Van, the NBA’s premiere interactive touring program, made its first ever overseas tour to China in summer 2005. The Jam Van traveled to 11 Chinese cities, tipping off on July 28 in Shanghai and through October 2, 2005 in Beijing. The journey covered 8,175 kilometers, including three municipalities and six provinces in its quest to bring the NBA experience to fans all over China.
  • The 2003 Coca-Cola NBA Jam Session, the first ever of its kind in China, tipped off in Shanghai on September 19, 2003 and then traveled to Beijing for the following two weekends. NBA legends Nate "Tiny" Archibald and George Gervin; NBA mascots Rocky and Boomer; and the Golden State Warriors Girls dance team were the featured guests providing fans with their first authentic NBA experience. Former Toronto Raptor Mengke Bateer made a special appearance and conducted a clinic during the event’s final weekend in Beijing. Over 100,000 enthusiastic fans visited China’s NBA Jam Session during the three weekends from September 19 to October 5.
  • The second Coca-Cola NBA Jam Session reached one more city in China by tipping off in Guangzhou from September 17 to 19, 2004 and traveled to Beijing for the following weekend. The event then moved to Shanghai from October 5 to 7 and October 13 to 14.
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Games

  • The first-ever NBA games in China took place on October 14 and 17 when the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings played preseason games in Beijing and Shanghai. The Houston Rockets won Game 1 in Shanghai, 88-86, while the Sacramento Kings won the Game 2 in Beijing 91-98. Marketing partners for the NBA China Games 2004 included Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Disneyland, Kodak, McDonald’s and Reebok.
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2005 Junior NBA China

  • 2005 Junior NBA China presented by Amway Nutrilite is the NBA’s grassroots basketball development program that aims to develop a life-long passion for the game of basketball by providing a support structure that not only encourages participation, but also makes the game fun and rewarding for players, coaches, officials and parents. The inaugural 2005 Junior NBA China launched in 15 cities on September 21, 2005 and ran through December 12. The national champion - Nanjing No.9 Middle School will represent China at the 2006 NBA All-Star weekend held in Houston, Texas from 17 to 20 February..
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NBA In The Community

  • Read To Achieve: As part of the NBA Games 2004, the NBA, Disneyland – worldwide outreach for The Walt Disney Company, and Hong Kong Disneyland worked together to help promote literacy and the importance of reading in Shanghai and Beijing. The first Read to Achieve event took place on October 13, 2004 at the No. 1 Gao’an Road Primary School in Shanghai – Houston Rockets Center Yao Ming’s alma mater. Yao Ming was joined by his teammate Dikembe Mutombo and NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier in a Reading Time Out. The second Read to Achieve event took place on October 17, 2004 at the Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School. Chris Webber, Bobby Jackson and Liu Wei from the Sacramento Kings, WNBA stars Alana Beard and Kara Lawson were guests at the Reading Time Out. NBA Commissioner David Stern attended both events.
  • Basketball Without Borders: A basketball instructional camp for young people that also promotes leadership, education, sportsmanship and healthy living, developed by the NBA and FIBA, was held for the first time in China in 2005. Led by native son Yao Ming, star center of the Houston Rockets, the first Basketball without Borders Asia took place July 14-17 at the Beijing Olympic Training Facility in Beijing, China. NBA players San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker (France), Philadelphia 76ers teammates Samuel Dalembert (Haiti) and Kyle Korver and New Orleans Hornets Bostjan Nachbar (Slovenia) also took part.
  • The program incorporated seminars on important social issues such as HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
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NBA-CBA Coaches Camp

  • The NBA teamed up with the China Basketball Association (CBA) to stage their first joint coaching camp in summer 2004. The inaugural NBA-CBA Coaches Camp, presented by McDonald’s, was designed to help improve the level of basketball in China by training the nation’s leading coaches. The camp was scheduled from July 20 to August 1, 2004 at the Beijing Capital Steel Gymnasium. Six NBA coaches and trainers traveled to China to share their world-class basketball expertise with more than 100 of their top counterparts from around China. Leading the NBA coaching group was Don Casey, former head coach of the New Jersey Nets, together with assistant coaches Dean Cooper of the Houston Rockets, Dick Helm of the New York Knicks and former NBA All-Star Rolando Blackman of the Dallas Mavericks. Daily instructional clinics, classroom seminars, and training sessions were conducted with the China 18-and-Under National Team players as the demonstration team. The NBA and CBA also produced an instructional video using footage from the camp, distributed free to coaches and players nationwide in an effort to upgrade coaching methods and playing skills throughout China.
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Larry O’Brien Trophy Tour

  • The Larry O’Brien Trophy, the NBA Championship trophy, made stops at sites across Beijing and Shanghai from May 20 to 24, 2004 including the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Bund and the Oriental Pearl Tower. The tour was part of the NBA Finals worldwide promotional tour.
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NBA/China Friendship Tour

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Player Tours

  • NBA Legend David Cowens paid his first visit to Beijing in February 8, 2006. During his trip, Cowens attended the Homenice-NBA Press Conference held on February 10, 2006 in Kerry Center Hotel as a special guest.
  • NBA Legend Geroge Gervin (Iceman) returned to China on February 7, 2006. Iceman attended the NuSports-NBA Press Conference held in Beijing on February 8, 2006 as a special guest.
  • NBA Legend Lafayette Lever (Fat Lever) was the guest of honor of 2005 Junior NBA China in Shenyang for Northern Regional Final on November 19 to 20, 2005 and Shanghai for the Eastern Regional Finals on November 26 to 27, 2005. The former Denver Nuggets star player conducted special basketball clinics for all the Jr. NBA participants prior to the start of the tournaments.
  • NBA Legend Robert Reid, the special advisor of the 2005 Junior NBA China, officially launched the program in a special ceremony in Beijing on August 29. The former Houston Rockets star player conducted a special 2-day basketball clinic for 15 coaches from the 15 participating cities. Reid attended the South Regional Final held in Guangzhou on December 3 to 4 , 2005 and the National Final held in Beijing on December 10 to 11,2005. The NBA Legend also hosted basketball clinics for both of the events.
  • NBA Legend Robert Parish (Chief) met fans in Beijing at the China edition of the NBA Jam Van in October 2005. Chief hosted basketball clinics for fans at the NBA Jam Van and attended the NBA Jam Van Celebration Ceremony in Beijing to celebrate the success of the first-ever NBA Jam Van Tour in China.
  • Allen Iverson kicked off his Asia tour in September, 2005. Iverson visited Tokyo in Japan and Shanghai in China from 21- 26, September and hosted basketball clinics for the local NBA fans.
  • Tracy McGrady headed to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei to participate in a number of events designed to continue the expansion and education of basketball throughout the region from August 28 to September 2 2005.
  • From August 2 to 6 2005, LeBron James was on a three-city tour of Asia. The tour was designed as a cross-cultural exchange between LeBron and young kids throughout Asia, and made stops in Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong.
  • NBA Legend Clyde Drexler arrived in Beijing on May 16, 2005 to attend the Global Fortune Forum in Beijing. Dominique Wilkins later arrived in Beijing on May 20, 2005 and attended the NBA - Budweiser Carnival and Nokia-NBA Marketing Partnership Announcement Press Conference together with Clyde Drexler.
  • Jermaine O'Neal went on the Greater China Tour from July 15-18, 2004. He visited Shanghai from July 15-16 to tour and attended the intra-city finals of a basketball game; he then visited Hong Kong and met with a youth basketball league on July 17 and went to Taiwan on July 18.
  • Paul Pierce arrived in Beijing on June 18, 2004. During his visit, he had a chance to hike up the Great Wall, served as a trainer in a basketball training camp and also met with fans in a hotel. Pierce left for the Philippines on June 20.
  • L.A. Lakers guard, Kobe Bryant traveled to Hong Kong and Beijing, China from August 10-14, 2001 to promote the sports of basketball through coaching clinics.
  • On June 16-23, 2001, NBA players, Wang Zhizhi of the Dallas Mavericks, Antawn Jamison of the Golden State Warriors and Jerome Williams of the Toronto Raptors together with Dallas Mavericks Assistant Coach Donn Nelson Jr. participated in the NBA-CBA Friendship Tour. Coach Nelson Jr. conducted a two-day coaching clinic for over 100 basketball coaches from Beijing. Antawn Jamison and Jerome Williams teamed up with CBA players, Jiao Jian and Zhang Yuan Song to treat 1,200 specially invited fans to a wide ranging basketball skills demonstration at the Forbidden City.
  • On August 11-17, 2000, the NBA Legends Tour, featuring a star-studded team of former NBA players such as Clyde Drexler, Buck Williams and Rolando Blackman coached by Rick Barry returned to China in August with a series of games against the Sydney Olympic Bound Chinese Men’s National Basketball team. Three international exhibition games were staged in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai against the national team, which served as final preparation for the squad before heading to Sydney for the 2000 Olympics. The first game was played in Beijing on Aug 11 with the NBA Legends defeating the Chinese National team 79-73. The second game was played in Guangzhou on Aug 14 and Eddie Johnson scored 21 points to lead the NBA Legends to a 90-77 victory. The NBA Legends lost to China 79-60 in the finale of the three-game series in Shanghai on Aug 17.
  • In 1998, a team of NBA Legends including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe, led by Coach [[Oscar Robertson], played four exhibition games against the Chinese National team in Shanghai, Hefei and Beijing in China October 16-23, 1998.
  • In 1982, a group of NBA players, including All-Stars Alex English (Denver) and Artis Gilmore (Chicago/San Antonio), Maurice Lucas (Portland) and Mike Bantom (Indiana Pacers), toured China and played an exhibition game against the Chinese National team. NBA Legends Oscar Robertson and Wes Unseld coached the team.
  • The Washington Bullets, led by Wes Unseld[ and Head Coach Dick Motta, visited China in 1979 and played two exhibition games against the Chinese National basketball team and the Bayi Rockets team.
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Additional Player Tours In The Asia-Pacific Region

  • NBA Madness returns for the Philippines and Taiwan in May 2005 with Orlando Magic rookie sensation forward Dwight Howard and L.A Lakers forward Luke Walton as special guests. New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson also joined Howard and Walton in Taipei for skills competitions, youth basketball activities and sports clinics etc.
  • Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons visited Taipei for the NBA Block Party in August 22-23, 2002. The outdoor event combined music and street basketball with the two NBA players joining in the action. Five lucky fans in Taiwan won a trip to the US to watch Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves live.
  • Nike invited Vince Carter to visit Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei on July 24-26, 2002 to express his support basketball amongst Chinese youth. Carter donated a basketball backboard to the China Basketball Association (CBA) and then was featured as a judge for a youth slam-dunk contest at the National Badminton Training Hall.
  • Los Angeles Laker Shaquille O'Neal traveled to Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Argentina and Chile on the “Shaq Rap ‘N’ Jam Tour” to promote his music and basketball talent during August-September, 1997.
  • Center David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs and Forward Joe Smith, then of the Golden State Warriors, held basketball clinics for thousands of children in Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong and Beijing, China and officiated at the opening ceremony of NBA Taiwan office August 25-31, 1997.
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The Ambassadors

  • A team of NBDL players was one of six teams to compete in the 2000 Asian Basketball Association League. The Ambassadors were led by Hall of Famer Nate “Tiny” Archibald and played in a six-week 20-game regular season against opponents from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from June 8 to July 7.
  • On July 13, 2000, Mike Jones, Rasul Salahuddin, and Wayman Strickland led the NBA Ambassadors to a 103-68 victory over China’s CBA All-Stars in the decisive third game of the Asian Basketball Association League championship series. The NBA Ambassadors, coached by Hall of Famer Nate “Tiny” Archibald, represented the NBA’s new developmental league (the National Basketball Development League) in the six-team ABAL.
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Games Featuring USA Basketball Teams

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WNBA Player From China

  • Following the footsteps of Zheng Haixia, Sui Feifei and Miao Lijie were the two WNBA players from China. Before joining the Sacremento Monarchs in February 2005, Sui Feifei was the power forward of Bayi team as well as the Chinese National Team. She played for China in many international games, such as 2005 Olympics, 2004 Asian Basketball Championship, 2002 Women’s World Championship etc. Sui Feifei also named WCBA All-Star team for twice and was awarded as MVP of 2003-04 WCBA Finals.
  • Miao Lijie played for Heilonjiang in the WCBA for the past four seasons (2001-04) and is currently in her eighth season as a member of the Chinese National Team. She was named MVP as the Chinese National Team took first place at the Asian Basketball Championship and also led the WCBA in scoring all four seasons. Miao was the leader of the WCBA in three-point shooting for two seasons (2001-03)and ranked second in scoring on the Chinese National Team during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
  • Zheng Haixia (JHENG HI-SHAW) was the first WNBA player from China when she was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the second round (16th overall) of the WNBA Elite Draft in February 1997. In 1997, she averaged 9.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 28 games. That same year, she also won the WNBA Sportsmanship award. Haixia retired from the WNBA after her second season in 1998 after averaging 7.5 points in six games.
  • WNBA teams played three exhibition games against the Chinese National Team in May 2004.
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