Two sides learn from each other

By Sun Xiaochen | China Daily | Updated: 2015-09-25 08:00

From Zach LaVine's over-a-fan dunk to DeMarre Carroll's tai chi impersonation, a series of events staged by visiting NBA stars have thrilled Chinese fans while also promoting fitness.

LaVine, the Minnesota Timberwolves' shooting guard, jumped over a volunteer and slammed down a hammer dunk to tip off this year's Shoot a Million Hoops event in Shanghai in June, opening a hot summer which so far has seen 30 active and retired NBA players visit China through various basketball, cultural and commercial ventures.

Named Summer of Slam campaign, the activity created more than 620,000,000 impressions.

LaVine's appearance at Shoot Two Million Hoops, a mass fitness event initiated by the Shanghai Sports Bureau, was part of NBA's deal with the bureau to promote mass sports participation and youth development through fan-star interactive activities.

The video of LaVine dunking over the fan generated more than 3.2 million views on Miaopai, a Vine-like short video sharing app, setting a record for the NBA's account on the platform.

Thanks to the multiyear partnership signed between the NBA and the Chinese Ministry of Education, high-profile visits by NBA stars to Chinese schools and communities as well as youth fitness clinics have brought more authentic NBA experiences to Chinese fans.

At the Shanghai leg of the 2015 NBA Nation, the league's free basketball and lifestyle touring event, the Toronto Raptors' newly-signed forward Carroll demonstrated several tai chi "moves" with Chinese practitioners, much to the mirth of local fans last month.

"I practiced about 10 minutes (before the show) but every day I got better and more comfortable with it. It feels good," said Carroll, who jumped to the Raptors from the Atlanta Hawks on a four-year $60 million deal in July.

After the tipoff leg in Beijing, which was attended by Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Conley and the Raptors' Luis Scola, the NBA Nation visited Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen, giving fans of all age access for mini hoop-themed contests and NBA FIT clinics.

Carroll taught hearing-impaired students from Shanghai Youth Technical School for the Deaf basketball fundamentals at a NBA Cares workshop while Sacramento Kings' All-Star guard Rajon Rondo guided 12 children from Shanghai Ziluolan Primary School through an NBA FIT clinic and shared health tips.

"I didn't bring any special message or training regimes ... just the mental part and how to outsmart your opponent on the court," Rondo said.