During the New York Knicks’ championship run in June, the franchise’s star point guard took a moment out from dismantling Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs to send well wishes to a specific group of his fans watching from far away. “To all the high school students taking the Gaokao, don’t be nervous,” Jalen Brunson said on social media, referencing the grueling, multi-day college entrance exam in China. “This may be a big test for you so far, but it will not be the biggest test of your life.”
Brunson, who played a pair of preseason games in Shanghai and Shenzhen with the Dallas Mavericks in 2018, certainly isn’t the first American-born NBA player to appeal to fans in the Far East. Knicks alumnus Stephon Marbury spent nine seasons playing in the Chinese Basketball Association and became so beloved that the city of Beijing dedicated a museum in his honor. Kobe Bryant’s annual summer tours made him a cultural icon across the Pacific, while Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson all signed sneaker deals with Chinese apparel companies. Stephen Curry has followed suit, joining Li-Ning earlier this month.
As the NBA’s largest market outside North America, players have long recognized the commercial opportunity that awaits them in China, especially for those with sneakers to sell. But entering the region is easier said than done, considering the country’s language barrier, cultural differences and the restriction and censorship of major Western platforms, like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. The league’s relationship with China was also strained for several years after former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet supporting Hong Kong protesters in 2019.
