Silver wants to turn NBA into gold in China

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is flanked by Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer (left) and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan before the Los Angeles Clippers and the Charlotte Hornets game as part of the 2015 NBA Global Games China at the Shenzhen Universiade Center on Sunday.[Photo/IC]

Bringing NBA preseason games to China has been a slam dunk for the popular league, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been looking at even greater plans to boost its game here.

With the Charlotte Hornets beating the Los Angeles Clippers 106-94 in a preseason game at the sold-out Shenzhen Universiade Center on Sunday, the North American league has once again shown just how popular it is with wildly enthusiastic fans, increased media exposure and growing sponsorship interest.

However, providing more authentic NBA experiences to Chinese fans over a large geographical area and a huge time difference remain challenges for the NBA as it tries to deepen its roots in its biggest overseas market.

"Ultimately for me, the greatest challenge is how we translate the live experience of this terrific product that is played almost exclusively in North America to fans in China," Silver told China Daily at a roundtable interview in Shenzhen on Saturday.

Since its first exhibition game featuring Yao Ming's Houston Rockets against the Sacramento Kings in China in 2004, the NBA has brought 20 official preseason games, including Clippers-Hornets Game 2 on Wednesday in Shanghai, to China.