The Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers have arrived in Shanghai to prepare for an exhibition game Wednesday night at the Qizhong Forest Sports City arena. The Magic will then head to Macao to take on the Chinese national team Thursday night at the new Venetian arena and then stage a rematch there against the […]

Reuters Canada (and the fact that it’s Canada is important here) reported early Friday that “China’s Li” was “surprised to be picked by Milwaukee.” There are many many people with the name Li in China. The player who was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in Thursday night’s NBA draft is not one of […]

While LeBron might be “King James” in Cleveland and Richard Hamilton goes by “Rip” in Detroit, China has its own way of nicknaming the NBA’s elite players. Last week, the NBA released an interesting list of NBA players and how they are called in the Middle Kingdom. While some of these monikers, namely […]

Sunday night in Guangdong, the Bayi Rockets took Game 1 of the CBA finals, defeating the Guangdong Tigers 94-89. Sorry, let me backtrack. There’s this league in China called the CBA or China Basketball Association that is not the same as America’s CBA, though equally as boring. In fact, it is […]

Chinese basketball isn’t known so much for its flash and flare. The NBA fan pays for a ticket looking to see the trash-talking, the behind-the-back passes and above all, the dunks. The CBA fan goes to the games for…well…actually the Chinese don’t really go to the games. And while it’s been discussed […]

Ever since I was a kid, the NBA has been talking about going global. But really, all it has been is talk. I remember hearing about a European expansion, which always sounded like a cool idea and nowadays, as the NBA’s European players are some of the best in the game, it seems more […]

The 12th season of the CBA kicked off this past weekend and by CBA, I don’t mean the failed Isaiah Thomas league. I mean the lovably mediocre Chinese Basketball Association. The present incarnation of the CBA, not to be confused with the former state-run Chinese Basketball Association, began play in 1995 with 12 […]

In China, it has become commonplace for the Chinese to adopt English names in addition to their Chinese names. Most popular are the really ordinary American names like Kevin and Lisa. Chinese youths are normally given these names by their parents or teachers, assuming their parents or teachers speak English. But every so often, I […]

On Sunday afternoon, I set out to my neighborhood public basketball courts in Shanghai to find out what the Chinese game is all about. When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was that the public hoops venue had been sponsored by Tracy McGrady and Adidas. On the top frame of the gate, […]