NBA G League players experience Shanghai culture before games kick off

A group of NBA G League players gained an immersive cultural experience in Shanghai's Huangpu district on Thursday, before kicking off their games against 2025-26 CBA champion Shanghai Sharks.

These top G League players, as the NBA G League United team, arrived in the city to join the first NBA Shanghai Basketball Festival, a week-long basketball and lifestyle festival co-presented by the NBA China and Shanghai East Asia Sports Culture Center Co Ltd.

The games between the two teams will be held on Friday and Sunday at Shanghai Indoor Stadium, marking the G League's first games against a CBA team.

The festival will also include the NBA Shanghai Basketball Festival Fan Carnival from Monday through Sunday, a free event for fans of all ages at Shanghai Xujiahui Sports Park featuring interactive basketball activities, local entertainment, meet-and-greets with NBA G League and Shanghai Sharks players, viewing parties of historic games and official NBA merchandise.

At the Shanghai Moments cultural and creative hub, the team explored the city's profound history as well as its modern vibes and local cultural expressions. With basketball as the bond, they also met, interacted and exchanged gifts with six students from the basketball team of the district's Shanghai Guangming High School.

The trip is particularly special for the NBA G League United team members and Jaelen House and Lester Quinones, who both played in CBA games before this visit. House recalled that he was "definitely surprised" when he first came here and saw the Chinese players' play. This is his third time in Shanghai, and he still felt cool to be back and discover new things and cultures.