Having a ball - China style

The pragmatic NBA has its sights firmly set on its top overseas market and recognizing Chinese New Year is shaping up as a masterful move, Chen Xiangfeng reports.

China boasts one of the world's richest cultures, and the ultra-pragmatic NBA is looking to move in on the great basketball market. The world's leading basketball league staged a Chinese New Year Celebration campaign during the annual break which featured a series of events and broadcasts in China as well as Chinese New Year-themed celebrations in the United States. They were designed to pay tribute to not only the fans in China but also Chinese communities around the globe. Along with those events, the league also launched robust player-fan engagement across other platforms including sweepstakes, Chinese New Year greetings from players and fan messages on NBA media platforms.

"Chinese New Year is a special time for us. Fans come home and stay with their family and friends. We think it's the great time to share basketball with them," said NBA China CEO David Shoemaker. "NBA is global and Chinese New Year is also not just about China. We have fans around the world and Chinese people around the world celebrating the festival. It could not be a better time to spread the NBA during this period."

During this "China Week" in the NBA, American fans saw their favorite players wearing specially-designed Chinese New Year shirts sending Year of the Snake greetings. The festival was also celebrated in NBA arenas with kung fu shows and lion dance performances during halftime of games.

Those were held at the home arenas of the Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors. Two additional venues had signage recognizing the holiday.

Additionally, a video of Chinese New Year celebrations will be displayed on the jumbotron during Monday's (Beijing time) All-Star Game.

"Twenty-three NBA games were broadcast live during the New Year. It's a tremendous celebration of the New Year as well as basketball," said Shoemaker.

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