Excitement, But No Sellout, For U.S. Hoops Game In Asia

USA Basketball Opener In China Basketball Challenge Generating Buzz

At the USA Basketball game Sunday night against China in the opening match of the China Basketball Challenge in Guangzhou, China, “high ticket prices [$85-477] left ... the 10,000-seat stadium below capacity,” but fans “who attended seemed to go home happy,” according to Calum MacLeod of USA TODAY. Tim Noonan, a TV analyst in China, said “the buzz will be muted” around the U.S. team until the World Championships in Japan beginning August 19. Noonan: “Except for [LeBron] James and [Dwyane] Wade, the ‘Dream Seven’ team is not so well known in China. It needs the highlights of TV first. Having Kobe Bryant here would have made a difference.”

GAINING TRACTION: MacLeod notes basketball “is challenging to be China's No. 1 sport.” China Basketball Association (CBA) VP Hu Jiashi, who estimated that 300-400 million Chinese either play or watch the game regularly, said, “Basketball used to be behind soccer, but now it's pulling level.” While pro basketball in China “is only a decade old,” Hu “counts up to 700 professional players, spread over 90 teams” in the CBA and its female counterpart, the WCBA. Some salaries reach $120,000 a year, “though younger players get by on $1,250 to $2,500.” NBA Commissioner David Stern while in Guangzhou on Sunday indicated that “he plans to hold regular-season games in China next year for the first time” (USA TODAY, 8/8).

NBA EFFORTS IN CHINA: CNBC’s Darren Rovell noted the NBA signed eight new Chinese marketing partnerships last year, including one with Haier, and 20% of all traffic to NBA.com is from China. Author Ted Fishman said, “As you get closer to the Olympics, there will be a huge crescendo of all sports marketing, but (the NBA can offer) real stars that are identifiable to a Chinese audience.” Rovell noted while Rockets C Yao Ming had the third-highest selling jersey last year, Rockets F and adidas endorser Tracy McGrady was No. 1. adidas, using McGrady, has “taken China by storm, where store openings are a daily occurrence.” adidas VP/Global Basketball Lawrence Norman said, “We have 2,000, but we are opening two every day and this is going to continue all the way through the Olympics and probably beyond” (CNBC, “On The Money,” 8/7).