Harris imparts his Nuggets of wisdom

NBA hotshot Gary Harris treated young Chinese hoopsters to some expert tuition at an ongoing basketball clinic in Haikou last week.

The Denver Nuggets star held court at the second NBA Basketball Camp at Mission Hills in the capital of Hainan province, on Friday.

Harris oversaw a training session during which he was keen to impress upon his 100 pupils the importance of constantly practicing the game's fundamentals.

"I can feel their desire to learn and to make progress day by day is very strong," said the 23-year-old, who was picked 19th overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2014 NBA Draft and then traded to Denver.

"A lot of them have good fundamental skills and hopefully they can continue to work on that, which is important."

After an uneven first three seasons with the Nuggets, Harris, who signed a four-year, $84-million contract extension last October, raised his game last term to average 17.5 points, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals in 67 games.

The presence of the prolific Harris at the clinic is the latest fruit of a partnership between NBA China and Mission Hills Group, the owner and operator of multiple resorts in South China, which was signed in September 2017.

Mission Hills Haikou hosted its first NBA training camp in January, while the current camp, which opened on July 24 and ends on Thursday, caters to Chinese players aged 6 to 18.

Having long heard and read about China's NBA obsession, Harris was still surprised to see the game's surging popularity here in person.

He added that the Chinese market is critical for basketball's worldwide expansion and expects more events like the Mission Hills training camp to further enhance the grassroots development of the sport here.

As part of its deal with NBA China, Mission Hills Group will design, develop and operate China's first NBA Basketball School as well as an NBA interactive store on the tourist island of Hainan.

"We are committed to providing a platform for a future generation of Chinese basketball players and helping unearth future Chinese NBA stars," said Tenniel Chu, vice-chairman of Mission Hills.

The NBA Basketball School at Mission Hills Haikou will be open to male and female players, from junior level to professionals. Work on the facility has already begun and will be completed in early 2020.

The school will include six indoor courts and other state-of-the-art facilities.

NBA China will operate and staff the facility alongside NBA-trained coaches.

NBA players and legends will visit the school to provide additional instruction and help foster player development.