Factbox

NBA CHINA

Development programs

CBA Dongguan Basketball School - a year-round NBA training center for elite players ages 12-17. First such NBA facility anywhere in the world opened in Nov 2011. Since then the state-of-the-art school has trained more than 1,600 young players.

The NBA and CBA joint coaching program has trained about 780 coaches, including current Chinese men's and women's national team head coaches and Min Lulei, who helmed the Beijing Ducks to their first CBA championship in 2012 and repeated in 2014.

NBA China and Yao Ming announced a partnership in 2012 to develop youth basketball and conduct community outreach programs in China. NBA Yao School expanded with the launch of summer camps in July, building upon the success of the NBA Yao School spring program launched in February 2014. The school provides after-school basketball training and fitness programs for boys and girls ages 16 and under at all skill levels

The Yao Foundation Hope School basketball season reached 90,000 children in 2014.

Games and events

The NBA has played 16 games in four Chinese cities since 2004. The NBA Global Games 2014, featuring the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings, will be held on Oct 12 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and Oct 15 at MasterCard Center in Beijing

The third edition of NBA Nation - the league's grassroots touring event - is visiting 14 Chinese cities until Sept 14. The interactive basketball festival features an NBA player at every stop and include community outreach activities.

Consumer products

NBA apparel and footwear is available in 2,200 adidas stores across China. The NBA Tmall e-commerce site has grown significantly since its launch in fall 2012, while the NBA JD.com e-commerce site was launched in April.

NBA2KOnline is the leading online sports game in China, with 20 million registered users. DeNA's 'NBA My Dream' mobile game, launched last fall is in the top five for sports games on App Store and Google Play in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with 15 million registered users.

NBA.com and digital media

Entered into a new partnership with LeTV to provide NBA games, highlights and statistics via Smart TVs, Over-The-Top Set-Top Boxes, PCs and mobile devices. Renewed partnership with Sina and Tencent to have more comprehensive NBA content on NBA.com/China, SINA NBA section and Tencent's NBA section.

Social media

The NBA is the most popular sports league on social media in China with more than 70 million followers on Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, Tencent Qzone, and Tencent WeChat (July 2014).

The official Weibo accounts of all 30 NBA teams were launched on Sina Weibo in December 2013.

The NBA official account on Tencent WeChat was launched in the fall of 2012, allowing fans to get the latest NBA news, scores, stats and event information on this social platform.

There are 164 NBA player accounts on Sina and Tencent Weibo, communicating directly with Chinese fans.

Social responsibility

Since 2004, NBA Cares has built 44 spaces where children and families can live, learn or play in eight cities throughout China and has also supported community outreach initiatives ranging from education to health and wellness and grassroots basketball efforts.

Built two NBA Hope Schools in Sichuan. The Yao Foundation NBA Hope School was officially launched last November with Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo.

As part of NBA Nation 2013, hosted NBA FIT Clinics with NBA players in 12 cities; reached more than 500 students to teach the importance of living an active and healthy lifestyle.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/05/2014 page24)