The Warriors are "starting to rival the sports world’s best-known franchises," and if the team can "maintain their upbeat, multicultural brand ... they will tap into a global pool of loyal fans," according to Benny Evangelista of the S.F. CHRONICLE. This season, the team will "sport the name of a corporate sponsor of FC Barcelona -- Japanese technology giant Rakuten -- on their uniforms." It is a "stamp of credibility" because Barcelona is the only other team Rakuten is sponsoring outside of Japan, and it puts Warriors G Stephen Curry and F Kevin Durant "in a league" with Barcelona Fs Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. The Warriors have a fan club of "about 100 members" in Seoul who all "don team gear and gather at a local pub to watch games." The Warriors are also "huge in the Philippines, home to Asia’s oldest pro basketball league." Warriors CMO Chip Bowers said that about 44% of the team’s 11 million Facebook followers "are in the Philippines, the most from any one country." He added that the team would "announce a partnership with the Philippines in a couple of months." The team’s courting of international fans is "part of a larger strategy to transform the franchise from a regional basketball team into an entertainment and media juggernaut." Bowers said that the Warriors’ "number of digital engagements -- a measure of online interactions with fans through websites, social media and other technologies -- doubled in the past year, putting the team just behind" Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United. To "truly become a global franchise, of course, the Warriors must keep winning" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/9).
CURRY IS SERVED: In S.F., Connor Letourneau writes because Curry has "spent much of the past half-decade working to build his fan base in the NBA’s biggest international market," his 40-point performance during an exhibition game yesterday in Shanghai was "only more memorable." Each of the past four years, Curry has "visited China for promotional tours with Under Armour." He has "run basketball clinics" and "signed numerous autographs." Periodically, Curry has "hosted a 45-minute Weibo chat with his Chinese fans." His advertising work has included "spots with Chinese cell phone company Vivo and Chinese car company eHi." To help appeal to his No. 1 audience outside the U.S., he "partnered with Under Armour to create a China-themed sneaker." Along the way, Curry "endeared himself to a fan base that appreciates All-Stars who take a personal interest in their country." Curry, not former NBAer Kobe Bryant, has "boasted China’s best-selling NBA jersey each of the past two years." When he "trotted onto the court" yesterday at Mercedes-Benz Arena for pregame warm-ups, Curry "triggered a roar" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/9). Letourneau writes, "No amount of reporting ... could prepare me for the depth of NBA fandom in China." Many Chinese fans "study the rosters, the box scores, the analytics -- anything to know more about their favorite teams." Letourneau: "When I started covering the Warriors a little more than a year ago, I knew I was covering a team that had the U.S.’s attention. What I didn’t necessarily understand was just how big Golden State is in a country of 1.3 billion people across the Pacific" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/9).
