Sports in Chinese – The Complete Guide to 32 Different Sports
In our never ending quest to bring you the best content on the web when it comes to studying Mandarin, we continue today as we teach you 32 sports in Chinese.
Of course though, the most important word of all is SPORTS, so let’s nail that one down right away…
SPORTS IN CHINESE – 运动 yùn dòng
Literally this means motion movement and also means exercise. Another common word for sports in Chinese is 体育 tǐyù.
As with a number of other vocabulary blogs, many of the sports hinge on learning a couple of key words.
REMEMBER – learning Chinese is all about piecing the building blocks together.
When we studied the shapes in Chinese we learned that knowing the numbers in Chinese helped unlock lots of shapes for us.
Sports is no different. The word for ball plays an imperative role in learning many (but not all of course) of the sports in Chinese. More-so than English.
Sure, English uses ball for Football, Baseball, Basketball… but Rugby and Tennis – not so. In Mandarin they all share that same keyword.
This makes our life much easier when learning the sports in Chinese!
Sports in Chinese – The 球’s (qiú)
Sports in Chinese – Running
Sports in Chinese – Swimming
Sports in Chinese – Skiing
Sports in Chinese – Boxing
Sports in Chinese – Horse Racing
Sports in Chinese – Golf
Sports in Chinese – Others
BONUS FREEBIE – Our Sports Quiz
Sports in Chinese – FAQ’s
If you want to hear all the sports in Chinese pronounced by a native speaker, watch our video, where teacher Jacqueline gives us a helping hand in pronouncing the words.
Play
Sports in Chinese – The 球’s (qiú)
OK that keyword we were talking about, ball – in Chinese is 球 qiú.
By learning this we now unlock a large group of sports in Chinese.
球 qiú is quite a common Chinese character which you will see in other words such as:
Earth (the planet) – 地球 dì qiú
literally “ground/land ball/sphere“
Fan (as in fan of a team) – 球迷 qiú mí
literally “ball/sphere enthusiast“
Match (as in sports match) – 球赛 qiú sài
literally “ball/sphere match“
Let’s take a look at some of the sports in Chinese that include 球 qiú.
Can you guess any before looking?
Notice how in English, only three of those nine sports listed above actually include the word BALL.
Yet in Chinese, you can take Badminton, which doesn’t even use a ball, yet 球 qiú is featured.
This is another one of the many reasons why CHINESE IS SUPER LOGICAL TO LEARN.
Pick up a few new keywords, and you are well on your way.
Let’s discover some sentences with those sports in:
Table Tennis in China
TABLE TENNIS IS THE MOST POPULAR SPORT IN CHINA.
乒乓球是中国最受欢迎的运动 Pīngpāng qiú shì zhōngguó zuì shòu huānyíng de yùndòng
Note how pīng pāng qiú is quite easy to remember because when you put pīng and pāng together they almost make a table that the game is played on… 乒乓. It’s quite visual and this makes it easier to remember.
Basketball in China
CHINESE PEOPLE LOVE TO WATCH BASKETBALL FROM AMERICA (NBA).
中国人喜欢看美国（NBA）的篮球 Zhōngguó rén xǐhuān kàn měiguó (NBA) de lánqiú
Just How Large is China Really 😲 Size Matters
How Big is China? 🐲 Size Matters – China is huge. We have some incredible facts just to prove how large China really is, 48 facts to be precise!
Notice in the above sentence we included the word for “fan” that we taught you earlier.
See how we didn’t write zúqiúqiú mí but just zúqiú mí.
Chinese don’t like repetition so we knock off the 2nd qiú to make it a bit less of a mouthful. This happens quite a lot in Chinese.
For example, the word for but is dàn shì but you’ll often find Chinese shorten it to dàn.
Want to discover more about Football in China? Check out our video below for more key vocabulary, and our blog about the culture of Football in China and what to expect when coming to watch a football match in China.
Play
Sports in Chinese – Running in Chinese Running in Chinese
As running most definitely does not involve a ball, it’s no surprise that this word does not include our friend qiú.
Run in Chinese = 跑步 pǎobù
Literally this means run step.
Let’s learn a couple of sentences with this word in
YESTERDAY I RAN 10KM
昨天我跑了十公里 Zuótiān wǒ pǎole shí gōnglǐ
I LIKE TO RUN THREE TIMES A WEEK
我喜欢一个星期跑三遍 Wǒ xǐhuān yīgè xīngqí pǎo sān biàn
Sports in Chinese – Swimming
Going with another Olympic sport that definitely doesn’t involve a ball here.
Swimming in Chinese = 游泳 yóu yǒng
Literally this means travel swim.
The first character appears in the word to travel, surprisingly, lǚ yóu 旅游 !
HE CANNOT SWIM
他不会游泳 Tā bù huì yóuyǒng
Sports in Chinese – Skiing
Onto more snowy matters as we go Skiing.
There are some great places to Ski and Snowboard in China whilst we are on topic!
Our student Tereza went Skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympic site with her mum Lenka and other LTL students. You can read about their experience Skiing in China on our blog.
Skiing in Chinese = 滑雪 huáxuě
BONUS – Snowboard in Chinese = 滑雪板 huáxuě bǎn
Just add a bǎn on the end to change Skiing to Snowboarding.
Literally Skiing in Chinese is slide snow and Snowboarding in Chinese is slide snow plank.
Weather in China ☀️ The Complete Guide
Summarising the weather in China within a few hundred words is near enough impossible. Here is our simple month-by-month and city-by-city guide.
Sports in Chinese – Boxing
Time to get the gloves on as we go Boxing.
Boxing in Chinese = 拳击 quánjí
Literally this means fist beat.
Quite a brutal literal translation there really isn’t it!
Staying in this area of Sport, Kung Fu is a nice easy one to remember given the similar sound:
Kung Fu in Chinese is 功夫 Gōngfū
Sports in Chinese – Horse Racing
All aboard the Horses.
Horse Racing in Chinese = 赛马Sàimǎ
Literally this means race horse.
A nice easy translation there.
With gambling being banned in China this wouldn’t be the most popular sport in the Mainland, but head south to Hong Kong and you’ll have two world renowned race tracks which host some first class Horse Racing action every week.
During the season, Sunday’s play host to the Sha Tin racecourse which is generally a little more low-key, full of elder locals, equipped with a pen and paper.
However, head to Happy Valley on Wednesday’s nights and you’ll be a part of a world class racing spectacle with great horses, jockeys and entertainment on show. Many foreigners in Hong Kong enjoy attending Happy Valley race nights given their excellent atmosphere and cheap entry.
Sports in Chinese – Golf
Wait a minute, Golf is a sport with a ball, why have we not included it in the 球’s (qiú)?
Golf is an exception to the rule. A sport that includes a ball, but not the 球.
In fact, the word golf is a loanword, sounding very similar to English.
Due to this, the literal translation of tall so husband makes absolutely zero sense.
If you want to discover more loanwords in Chinese check out our blog.
Coffee in Chinese ☕️ A Complete Guide to Ordering a Cup of Joe in China
Do you know how to order a coffee in Chinese? Well luckily for you LTL has a complete guide of how to order all your favourite types of coffee!
Other Sports in Chinese
Check out our video at the top of the blog to unlock EVEN MORE sports in Chinese!
Have we missed out your favourite sport?
Drop us a comment and we’ll include it for you!
Sports in Chinese – Quiz
Welcome to our super quick Sports Quiz! Enter your First name and email to begin. Don't worry you can unsubscribe at any time!
Literally this means motion movement and also means exercise. Another common word for sports in Chinese is 体育 tǐyù.
How do you say Football in Chinese?
足球
zú qiú
How do you say Table Tennis in Chinese?
乒乓球
pīng pāng qiú
How do you say Olympics in Chinese?
Olympic
奥林匹克
Ào lín pǐ kè
Olympic Games
奥运
Ào yùn
How do you say Tennis in Chinese?
网球
wǎng qiú
How do you say Badminton in Chinese?
羽毛球
yǔ máo qiú
What is China’s most popular sport?
Table Tennis is China’s most popular and national sport.
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basketball game - Translation into Chinese - examples English
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The best basketball game is here!
最好的篮球比赛是在这里！
On personal offensive tactics consciousness in the basketball game
论篮球比赛中的个人进攻战术意识
Next: Wuhan half street basketball game
上一页： 武汉街头三人篮球赛
A supplier offers you tickets to a regular season basketball game.
一名供应商向你提供常规赛季的篮球赛门票。
Take part in the most addictive basketball game!
参加令人上瘾的篮球游戏！
Prepare to experience the joy of playing best basketball game with real people.
准备好体验与真人玩最棒的篮球游戏的带来的快乐。
I turned off the basketball game and started to write.
我关掉了电视上的篮球比赛，开始书写.
Tongyu Heavy Industry holds 2019 staff basketball game to welcome National Day
通裕重工举行2019年度迎国庆职工篮球赛
Shandong Third transit basketball game Wonderf...
山东中天第三届篮球比赛精彩花絮
From August 17th to 18th, the 3v3 basketball game of employe...
In the basketball game China beat the Japanese by a neck.
在那场篮球赛中中国队险胜日本队。
She felt more beaten up after a tough basketball game than she did now.
她可能在打完一场激烈的篮球赛之后比现在更感到精疲力竭。
He even participated in the first intercollegiate basketball game in 1896.
他甚至还在1896年参加史上第一次的校际篮球比赛。
As a child, he patterned his basketball game after Toni Kukoč, a Croatian NBA player who spent the majority of the 1990s playing for the Chicago Bulls. As a 15-year-old, he was cut from the Victoria junior state representative team.
As a child， 他仿照托尼 Kukoč 他的篮球比赛， 大部分的芝加哥公牛队 90 年代玩的克罗地亚 NBA 球员. 作为一位年仅 15 岁， 他被切断从维多利亚初级国家代表队.
Right after we get back from the basketball game.
就在我们从篮球赛回来之后
The third "only really Cup" basketball game ended successfully
第三届"唯真杯"篮球比赛圆满结束
The summer of 2013, Tianjin WINDO machinery limited company held the first basketball game.
2013年夏，天津文洲机械有限公司举办首届篮球比赛。
Previous:Paul Light (Tianjin) in 2015 the first basketball game
上一条：保光（天津）2015年第一届篮球比赛
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Basketball in China • China News Portal PRC.today - China Today
Content:
Last revised 09/27/2021
Basketball has become one of China's favorite sports, and this can be evidenced by the daily workload of the basketball courts of public sports complexes . In addition, Chinese fans of this sport actively follow all the events that take place, from matchmaking games to live tournaments. As entertainment, basketball is quite widespread in China, for example, in China, the last season of the NBA was watched by almost half a billion people, which was facilitated by the technology giant Tencent, which on July 28, 2019extended its exclusive digital partnership with the NBA for another five years.
The origins of basketball in China
The origins of basketball in China began in 1895, when the sport was introduced by American missionaries at the same time as China's second Youth Christian Association (YMCA) in Tianjin, who saw it as a tool to promote the Christian ideals of masculinity and health.
However, in reality, the game began to gain popularity in China precisely because of the educational institutions and later the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA). At 19In 13, at the Far East Championship, the first silver medal was won by the first Chinese national team, consisting entirely of students from educational institutions.
Even as sports and leisure gave way to wars and survival efforts during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, basketball still found its place as a pastime for PLA soldiers, which laid the foundation for how this sport will develop after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 year.
In communist China, the sport took on a life of its own, with political support and official recognition as a national pastime. The members of the PLA founded one of the first national teams, the Bayi basketball team, which later became one of the most famous basketball teams in the country. The "Bayi" team, literally "eight one", was named after the founding date of the military organization - August 1.
China's love of sports was unwavering - it survived the Cultural Revolution, and after the launch of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" in the 70s, basketball became another way to reconnect China with the world.
Interesting fact! The first color sports film in the PRC was the female basketball player No. 5 basketball film. In the film, released in 1957, the image of the main character reflected the outstanding player of the women's team of that time - Yang Jie.
Recognition
A decade after Deng Xiaoping reopened the country, Chinese basketball has seen an explosive rise. Under the leadership of David Stern, in 1987 the NBA began giving away free recorded broadcasts of games on CCTV. Two years later, this agreement quickly grew into a full-fledged live-to-air deal, which few media companies were able to pull off at the time.
The introduction of the American League and its stars, such as Magic Johnson, on public television prompted a reorganization of China's professional basketball system. The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), was founded in 1995 and became the league that revealed the names of outstanding Chinese basketball players to the basketball world,
Surprisingly, it was the Women's League of America (WNBA) who first took the risk of betting on a Chinese professional basketball player - Los Angeles Sharks at 19In 1997, she chose Zheng Haixia, a member of the Chinese national team, who won the WNBA Sports Conduct Award the same year. The NBA followed suit four years later when the Dallas Mavericks selected Bayi Rockets center Wang Zhizhi.
Although Zheng and Wang's American league careers were relatively short-lived, spanning only one and four seasons respectively, they set the stage for the sensation that would follow.
In a way, it can be said that for decades Chinese basketball players have played in relative obscurity, but a unique Chinese style of play has been developed to compensate for the relatively limited height of most of the players. Skillful footwork, accurate shots and sophisticated ball skills became the hallmarks of the Chinese game until a guy named Yao Ming came along.
Before joining the NBA, Yao Ming had already played for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager and spent five years with the CBA. After signing with the Houston Rockets, Yao helped the team reach the playoffs multiple times (2004, 2005, and 2007–09), became the face of Chinese sports, and raised the market competitiveness of NBA stars in China to a new level. Shortly after Yao joined the Houston Rockets, the NBA began holding annual pre-season games in Chinese cities for fans to watch in person. An injured Yao retired from professional basketball in July 2011. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 and he became CBA president the following year, having been president and franchise owner of the Shanghai Sharks CBA since 2009of the year.
The Yao Phenomenon
At 7ft 6in, Yao wasn't just tall for a Chinese, he was a human mountain by any standard. With his fluid play and even smoother sense of humor, he became an international sensation and helped turn the idea of China as a basketball nation into the mainstream.
It really can't be overstated how phenomenal Yao and his Houston Rockets team were in China in the early to mid 2000s. The Chinese love to be proud of their own, and here they had a homegrown star taking the world's biggest stage by storm.
Yao knitwear sells in the millions (and millions more in fakes). He was the spokesman for a ridiculous number of brands and companies, and his face graced billboards all over the country.
Yao's first game against NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal in 2003 drew over 200 million viewers in China, nearly double the American audience for the most watched Super Bowl in history.
Yao (and later Jeremy Lin) helped attract more casual Chinese fans and gave the country a single star and team to root for, but there are many other interesting elements that make basketball so popular in China.
Yao Ming's NBA arrival
Interesting moments! In 1935, basketball was declared a national hobby in China, and in 1936, China fielded an Olympic team. During the Mao era, it was played under the slogan "friendship comes first, competition comes second" and players would apologize after breaking the rules. Basketball was one of the few Western pastimes not condemned by the Cultural Revolution, and members of the People's Liberation Army were encouraged to play basketball during exercise.
Popularity
The popularity of basketball in China is not waning, but rather increasing. For example, Jeremy Lin is a popular current NBA player in China, according to social media followers, Baidu mentions and searches. But that's not all, and as a testament to the popularity of basketball in China, it should be noted that the NBA itself is looking for ways to connect with its mainland Chinese fans. In 2010, the league began streaming its games live on the Chinese Weibo platform. It also struck a deal with Chinese tech giant Tencent, allowing the latter to stream games and sell them to consumers through popular social media platforms like QQ and WeChat (both Tencent products). Individual teams have also found their own ways of communicating with Chinese fans. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban encouraged online users in January 2018 to create a new Chinese name for the team, which was then adopted.
Interesting fact! Charles Barkley is one of the greatest basketball players and is also considered an entertainment expert on American television. Once he kissed a donkey on the ass. Yao Ming, the superstar of Chinese basketball, is to blame for this. This was back in November 2002. Barkley lost a bet he hinted that Yao would never score more than 19 points in a single game in his first season in the NBA. Yao Ming proved Charles Barkley wrong by scoring 20 points against the Los Angeles Lakers after just eight games.
It is possible that the popularity of basketball in China led to the fact that after leaving the NBA, Stephon Marbury continued to play professionally in the CBA for eight seasons and finally retired only in 2018.
The stars in the CBA, and not only them, have gained a following, as evidenced by the popularity of streetball tournaments and reality shows such as Dunk of China with numerous star refereeing squads. (After Jeremy Lin and Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou performed on the first season of Dunk of China, Dwyane Wade and Nick Young have since appeared.)
Stars in and out of the CBA have gained a following, as evidenced by the popularity of streetball tournaments and reality TV shows such as Dunk of China with numerous star refereeing squads. (After Jeremy Lin and Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou performed on the first season of Dunk of China, it was followed by Dwyane Wade and Nick Young.)
Dunk of China aired its first episode on Saturday, August 25, 1918 , racking up over 51 million views in four days, which isn't surprising considering there are around 300 million people who practice basketball in China. While 1v1 and 3v3 television competitions are nothing new in China, Dunk of China marks the first time basketball has been put into a reality TV format, and sponsorship from multinational brands like Head & Shoulders brings the familiar streak of permanent product placement.
In parallel with basketball becoming a part of China's daily life, the massively popular HUPU online forum was first formed around basketball before it expanded to cover other topics such as football, esports, film and music.
NBA Opens Basketball Training Center in China
Mission Hills Group designed and built the facility to be operated by NBA China.
Development will improve the standard of play in the country
The Chinese government strives to promote sports culture in Hainan Province
China's first National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball training center jointly developed by the league's Chinese division and the Mission Hills group officially opened.
The sprawling resort campus in the Chinese island province of Hainan has five international standard indoor basketball courts. The complex also has a number of support facilities including gyms, a rehab center, gyms, indoor pools, medical offices, player apartments and player restaurants.
The project also includes an interactive NBA experience center and specialty stores that have been operating since 2018. The project was originally introduced in 2017 by five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant.
NBA Certified Coaches will develop professional basketball training courses and will be responsible for training basketball players and developing players at the facility. Active and legendary NBA players will also visit the training center to give students additional guidance.
NBA to open China's first basketball school
"The completion of the NBA Basketball Training Center demonstrates our commitment to developing youth basketball in China," said Shi Gerui, vice president of NBA China Basketball Operations. « I believe that under the guidance of NBA-trained coaches, more young male and female players will learn basketball skills at the NBA Basketball Training Center and enjoy the sport ".
At the opening ceremony, NBA China also announced that Yingyi International Medical will be the official partner of the training center for sports rehabilitation and sports training.
Covid-19
The emergence of Covid-19 brought a lot of troubles and problems, which also affected the CBA, but the players and teams did not stand aside and provided all possible assistance in confronting Covid-19 — Yao Ming, being the president of the CBA, took an active part in the camp donations within the league to buy medical and protective supplies as soon as the coronavirus struck China's Wuhan. He continued to use his influence in the Chinese basketball world to donate more money and medical supplies. Yao's actions also prompted a group of league stars including Stephon Marbury, Jeremy Lin, and Yi Jianlian to get involved and donate.
The contribution of the CBA teams and players has gone beyond helping to fight the epidemic in China, but has also spread throughout the world. On March 23, after former CBA Liaoning Flying Leopards fitness coach Sergio Pérez sent messages asking for much-needed masks and gloves in Spain, he was soon contacted by the team to send much-needed supplies.
Former NBA star Stephon Marbury worked with Chinese manufacturer to deliver 10 million N9 masks5 to his hometown of New York, which has become the epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak. The head coach of the Beijing Royal Fighters also provided donations to help Chinese medical workers.
Today, more than 300 million people play basketball in China, and the CBA now has 20 men's teams located throughout the country. Despite decades of various upheavals, basketball has taken root and has become a part of everyday life and entertainment in China. Today, the sport is as popular as ever, and its stubborn Chinese fandom isn't likely to die down anytime soon.
Chinese basketball in brief
Chinese people love basketball. It is estimated that about 300 million people play this game. Some Chinese who have money spend it on basketball shoe collections. Data from the mid-2000s suggests that basketball and football were roughly tied as the most popular sport in China, with table tennis in third place.
Andrew Higgins wrote in the Washington Post: “Hundreds of millions of Chinese people play basketball and watch it on TV. China's professional league, the Chinese Basketball Association, has 17 teams. The country's national basketball team, the best in Asia, delights Chinese fans with its aggressive play and noisy fights with rivals."
Basketball courts can be found in villages and urban areas. For many Chinese, their main form of exercise is playing basketball. One of the first things you see when you enter the main courtyard of the Forbidden City are the basketball courts, one with grass and the other with regular concrete for a playground. They are mainly used by security guards and other employees for informal games.
Basketball is the most popular school sport and the most popular sport among Chinese youth. It's hooked in part because it's easy to play and doesn't require a lot of hardware. Most schools have nets and shields, and new playgrounds are being built all the time.
With the advent of the NBA, more and more kids are playing NBA-style sass and wearing Adidas, Nike and Reebok, often fake shoes and clothes. At the university level, an organization similar to the NCAA has been created that sponsors an NCAA-like tournament with a Final Four.
The Chinese national basketball team is considered the best basketball team in Asia. She regularly defeats her closest rivals, Japan and South Korea.
The Chinese have established some good centers.
Members of the national team undergo grueling training twice a day, six days a week. This practice often includes hours of the same ball handling exercises performed by younger students.
In international competitions, Chinese women usually perform better than Chinese men. One of the most dominant players in women's basketball in the 1990s was Zheng Haixia, a 6ft 10in, 240lb player, half a foot taller than the tallest woman on the American team, who had amazing results - once scoring over 60 points in one game.
The national team was coached by Lithuanian head coach Jonas Kazlauskas and assistant coach Donny Nelson, who was officially with the Golden State Warriors.
Many people think that China will be one of the top four teams in the world in about ten years. Team USA coach in 2008 Mike Kryzewski said: “They are a good team and they will continue to get better. They have too many resources and passion to get better. They will commit to getting better because they live for the game."
The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) is the main organizing body for basketball in China and the name of the professional league it administers. Among the 12 teams in the CBA League are the Peking Ducks, the Guangzhou Southern Tigers, the Hong Kong Flying Dragons, the Hubei Cranes and the Shanghai Sharks. The latter is jointly owned by the Shanghai government and the state television station. Other sponsors include the People's Liberation Army. By 2015, it is planned to transfer 12 teams to private ownership.
The practice is very tough. When Yao Ming first turned professional at age 13, his coach spent four sessions a day with the Sharks: the first at 6:30 am, the last one ending at 8:30 pm.
Under CBA rules, each team is allowed no more than two foreign players on the court at any one time, and they may play no more than five quarters in each game. Some have experience in the NBA. Many have played at US universities with good teams and have some experience playing in Europe, Argentina, Turkey, Israel or elsewhere.
Americans who have played in the CBA include Mike McGee, former LA Laker, Tyrone Dolemna and Maurice Barnett, both former Harlem Glotters, and Michael Hudson, once an All-Star Magic Johnson. Mediocre basketball players in the United States have become big stars in China. Former NBA star Steve Francis played in the Peking Ducks.
American players and coaches communicate using hand signals and interpreters.
The Chinese league "will lose huge support from fans if it refuses American imports," Bruce O'Neill, president of the United States basketball academy, told the Washington Post. The USBA is an Oregon-based organization that helped send Americans to China and also trained Chinese coaches and young players. For all of China's growing nationalism, he said, "They still love America."
Chinese teams are much more popular and richer now than they were in 1994 when the GBA started, but fans still want to watch American players.
Fearful of being swamped with talent from the NBA and other foreign leagues, China has imposed a $20,000 per month salary cap and limited each team to two foreigners. That limit was later raised to $60,000 and has now faded into the background, O'Neill said. Foreigners, especially former NBA players, are "definitely good for our league" because they "attract fans and attract sponsors," said Bai Xilin, a senior official in Chinese basketball's governing body.
If you liked the article or have questions, leave your comment or discuss this article on the forum.
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The Yao Ming Era: How the Chinese Loved Basketball
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Photo: Getty Images
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in China. Some even argue that basketball is next in popularity to ping-pong. You can easily verify this by looking into residential areas of China or the campuses of educational institutions: many basketball courts are occupied by young people almost around the clock. Even Chinese companies do not miss the opportunity to take advantage of such popularity and place their advertisements at official NBA matches.
Understanding how the NBA entered China and when basketball became such a popular sport in China.
NBA in China
The NBA (National Basketball Association) is a North American professional basketball league. The history of relations between the NBA and China began almost 40 years ago. On August 24, 1979, an American team arrived in China, the year before having won the champion title, the Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards). The Bullets became the first American players invited to the country. In China, they played two friendly matches with the Chinese club Bai Rockets and the Chinese National Team.
None of the teams could seriously compete with the Americans, but the final score hardly mattered. These games were as much political as they were sports. This period of history was marked by the establishment of relations between the PRC and the United States, and the invitation of the basketball team only contributed to consolidating the success achieved in diplomatic relations between the two countries. In addition, the beginning of the formation of basketball as one of the most popular sports in China was laid.
Bullets on the Great Wall of China. Photo: AP Archive
“You could see basketball taking off,” was how Washington Bullets coach Richard Motta would later recall this historic visit in an interview. - In all places where there was a lot of free space, there were basketball hoops. They fell in love [with the sport]. Popularization of basketball was only a matter of time. ”
Yao Ming Era
Although the "seed" was planted, the popularity of basketball in China was far behind the current one. It wasn't until more than a decade after the Washington Bullets' visit to China that the NBA began to look to Asia as a promising destination. At 19In 1992, the association opened its first overseas office in Hong Kong. And after another 10 years, something happened that really increased the popularity of basketball in China.
In the 2002 NBA Draft (an annual procedure for selecting new basketball players who want to join the league), the Houston Rockets team selected the Chinese Yao Ming. Before that, only two Chinese players played in this tournament, but none has received such fame.
Start of Yao Ming's career in the USA. Photo: AFP
Yao Ming (姚明) started playing basketball at the age of 9years, largely due to the influence of parents, former professional basketball players. When Yao was 13, he joined the youth squad of Chinese club Shanghai Sharks, training 10 hours a day to be accepted into the team. Yao Ming played in the youth team for 4 years, after which he moved to the main team of the Sharks.
When Yao Ming entered the 2002 NBA draft, a group of consultants known as "Team Yao" was formed. Many predicted that Yao Ming would be selected first, although league teams doubted that the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) would allow Yao to play in the United States.
Indeed, when Wang Zhizhi (the first NBA player from China) refused to return to China and play for the National Team, the CBA agreed that Yao would take his place. They also decided that they would not "let" Yao play in the US unless the Houston Rockets chose him first. After Team Yao convinced the China Association that the Rockets would still draft Yao and make it the first pick, the CBA gave its green light on the morning of the draft. Thus, Yao Ming became the first player in the world who did not play in the US college league, but was selected at number one.
The Houston Rockets have not reached the American League Finals since 1995. Young Yao's first game was watched by 200 million spectators not only in the US but also abroad. Although the Rockets did not achieve any significant success with Yao, the young player himself became a real star. Yao has signed many promotional deals with both Chinese and American companies, but more importantly, Yao's success has had an impact on the entire league and basketball in China as a whole.
"Before Yao Ming, there were NBA fans in China, but basketball was not yet mainstream," says Bao Renjun, sportswriter for Tencent.
"If we're talking about 'opening the doors' to the NBA for Chinese basketball players, or how Chinese youth believed that their NBA dreams could come true, it all started with Yao," during a trip to Shanghai about Yao Ming is called back by star player Kobe Bryant.
In 2004, the NBA brings American teams back to China. This time there was a friendly match between the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets. The match was remembered by the unceasing support of the hall, shouting out the name of Yao Ming throughout the game. The meeting ended with the victory of the "Rockets" with a score of 86-88, Yao earned 13 points for his team in this game.
Yao Ming (right) and Tracy McGrady at Tiananmen Square, 2004. Credit: CFP
Since then, the popularity of basketball in China has skyrocketed, inspiring other players in the American League. In 2008, the NBA established a subsidiary, NBA China, and the association began to actively open training centers, sponsor events, and encourage big-name players to visit sports in China.
Basketball in China today
Today, the NBA is the most popular sports league on the Chinese social network Weibo, and the number of amateur players in China is greater than the population of the United States - 350 million people. Chinese companies have become the largest investors in the American League. The sale of broadcast rights to NBA games in China accounts for 70% of the association's total overseas revenue. The stakes are so high that Chinese internet giant Tencent has paid $500 million to become the NBA's exclusive digital partner in China. After that, the number of viewers increased by 66%, and the total number of league matches watched doubled.
The association also cooperates with China's popular social network Weibo, which has more than 400 million active users, allowing the NBA to post game highlights, player interviews, photos, statistics and reports from various events. When the association launched its profile on this platform, they probably did not expect such success, but today the official NBA account has more than 41 million subscribers, and their materials during the playoffs collect 3 billion views.
“If there's a second basketball powerhouse in the world, it's China,” says Philadelphia 76ers team director Scott O'Neill. “The popularity of the NBA on Chinese social media gives us a great advantage, we can create content ourselves and distribute it quickly. Chinese fans like everything new and interesting, and the association's players fully meet these requirements.
PEAK 匹克 is a sports equipment manufacturer. Photo: Getty Images
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According to Tencent, Yao Ming's former team, the Houston Rockets, is still the most popular team in China. The final game of the NBA Western Conference between the Rockets and the Golden State Warriors team was watched by 60 million Chinese viewers. The same match set a record for views in the United States, but already with 15 million viewers.
According to the Mailman Group, the most popular player in China is retired American Kobe Bryant, while the most popular current player is Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin.
Houston Rockets in 火箭 (rocket) uniform. Photo: Getty Images
Yao Ming retired from professional sports in 2011 after a series of injuries that caused him to miss 250 games in the last 6 seasons of his career.
We have some incredible facts just to prove how large China really is, 48 facts to be precise! 
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As a 15-year-old, he was cut from the Victoria junior state representative team.
They are not selected or validated by us and can contain inappropriate terms or ideas. Please report examples to be edited or not to be displayed. Rude or colloquial translations are usually marked in red or orange.
Under the leadership of David Stern, in 1987 the NBA began giving away free recorded broadcasts of games on CCTV. Two years later, this agreement quickly grew into a full-fledged live-to-air deal, which few media companies were able to pull off at the time. 
An injured Yao retired from professional basketball in July 2011. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 and he became CBA president the following year, having been president and franchise owner of the Shanghai Sharks CBA since 2009of the year. 
Basketball was one of the few Western pastimes not condemned by the Cultural Revolution, and members of the People's Liberation Army were encouraged to play basketball during exercise. 
The USBA is an Oregon-based organization that helped send Americans to China and also trained Chinese coaches and young players. For all of China's growing nationalism, he said, "They still love America." 
Photo: Getty Images 
In China, they played two friendly matches with the Chinese club Bai Rockets and the Chinese National Team. 
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Yao Ming played in the youth team for 4 years, after which he moved to the main team of the Sharks. 
Young Yao's first game was watched by 200 million spectators not only in the US but also abroad. Although the Rockets did not achieve any significant success with Yao, the young player himself became a real star. Yao has signed many promotional deals with both Chinese and American companies, but more importantly, Yao's success has had an impact on the entire league and basketball in China as a whole. 
The match was remembered by the unceasing support of the hall, shouting out the name of Yao Ming throughout the game. The meeting ended with the victory of the "Rockets" with a score of 86-88, Yao earned 13 points for his team in this game. 
The stakes are so high that Chinese internet giant Tencent has paid $500 million to become the NBA's exclusive digital partner in China. After that, the number of viewers increased by 66%, and the total number of league matches watched doubled. 
Chinese fans like everything new and interesting, and the association's players fully meet these requirements. 
