China - the sleeping team sports giant awakens
Basketball is popular in China. 300 million Chinese play it regularly, making basketball the most popular team sport in the Middle Kingdom.
The Basketball World Cup is still taking place in China until 15 September. Basketball is the most popular sport there. But you won't find any Chinese players among the world's elite. Yao Ming wants to change that. He is a folk hero in China.
In 2002, the 2.29-metre giant became the first Chinese player ever to play in the NBA, where he became a superstar with the Houston Rockets. His very first game for the Rockets was watched by over 200 million Chinese on TV. But after nine years at the highest sporting level, Ming's body was at its end: the centre had to end his career in 2011 at the age of just 30 due to several fatigue fractures in his left foot.
Since 2017, Yao Ming has been chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Chinese professional league of the same name. He wants to make China a basketball superpower. Around 300 million Chinese already play this ball sport on a regular basis. That is roughly equivalent to the population of the USA.
What if ...?
By the end of 2019, around 1.4 billion people will live in China. Alongside India, it is the most populous country in the world - but only a major power in comparatively few sports such as artistic gymnastics, badminton or table tennis. China and classic team sports don't seem to work so far. Perhaps because creativity and not just drill is required? But that is set to change. Back in 2015, President Xi Jinping formulated the goal of making China number one in the world's favourite sport, football, by 2050.
China's long road to becoming a major sporting power has been announced for some time, has been feared by the rest of the sporting world for even longer and will eventually become a reality. When 300 million people play a sport, there are naturally enough above-average talents among them. If the structures and support are right, China will also be a leader in global sports such as football in the foreseeable future.
The West looks to the East
Back to basketball. The National Basketball Association has recognised the potential in the Middle Kingdom. The stars of the NBA have long been skilfully playing the Chinese market: partnerships with local brands are no longer an exception. In June 2018, Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors signed a ten-year contract with Chinese sporting goods giant Anta worth 80 million dollars.
Dwyane Wade, who ended his career with the Miami Heat after last season, has signed a lifetime contract with Chinese sports fashion brand Li Ning.
The biggest superstar in China, however, is Jeremy Lin from the reigning champions, the Toronto Raptors. According to the NBA Red Card 2018 China Digital Report by the Mailman Institute, the son of Taiwanese parents is the most popular NBA player in China. Not least because Lin's Management is running a social campaign tailored to Chinese consumers: Lin's account posts frequently on Weibo, where snapshots with online stars can be seen again and again. There is a cartoon series about Lin and he is also involved in a documentary about the Chinese New Year, which was broadcast on the NBA's Weibo channel.
In addition, Lin is present on new trending channels such as the video snippet platform Douyin, where he is the most followed Western athlete with seven million followers.
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