Ballin' in China

Whether you follow basketball fan or not, it was hard not to hear about the American "Redeem Team" winning gold at the Olympics. Put together to reclaim the States' lost dominance over the basketball world, it featured some of the world's most famous players and didn't lose a game the entire tournament. In fact, they played so well that some idiots intrepid reporters have argued that they're better than the original Dream Team from 1992. Yeah, the one that featured Jordan, Bird, Magic, Barkley, Stockton...do I have to keep going?

Anyways, the way I see it, performance aside, the big difference between the two lies in that the Dream Team clearly went to promote the game (and it worked, just look at how far basketball's come since), while the Redeem Team came more to promote the NBA and themselves. Yeah, it's nice and good to say you came to reclaim basketball glory, avenge past losses, etc.. but just look at what's come out in the half-month since the end of the tournament:

• Jason Kidd, the team's starting point guard, just ditched Nike to sign with Chinese sneaker PEAK (also Shane Battier's sponsor).
• Baron Davis, the newest NBA star to hit LA, similarly ditched RBK for Li-Ning. By my count, 8 NBA players now wear Chinese sneakers.
• The NBA's announced plans to play another round of exhibition games in China.
• The NBA's signed a sponsorship deal with Tsingtao, China's biggest beer manufacturer.
  

And in related news, the LA Lakers also signed Chinese guard Sun Yue (I'm not sure what shoes he wears.) China's the next great frontier for the NBA, and the league knows it.

Oh, and by the way, know how everyone hates Kobe in North America? He could probably care less. One of the best things about coming to China is that you've got a fresh marketing start. Kobe's got his own TV show here, Kobe's Disciples, and the top selling NBA jersey (ahead of both Yao and Yi).