Kobe Bryant gives back to China
On many occasions, we see celebrities do a whole lot of good deeds because they are trying to curry support from fans. But there is nothing better than a corporate social responsibility move that is happening as a form of reciprocation of the love you have been shown by people. China is one of the countries with the highest population in the world. So, whenever your brand is selling in China, it is actually selling.
Whenever ESPN world 100 comes out, the list is always dominated by the usual suspects. Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James, Lionel Messi and Kevin Durant normally rank from numbers 1 to 4th in the list of the most famous athletes. This is because the world takes football and the NBA very seriously. However, when you come into china, it is always a different ball game altogether. Kobe Bryant is actually the number one ranked sports personality in the country. While he is ranked 11th in the overall world ranking, he has always had the top position among Chinese people. It is confirmed that the most popular athlete in china is the black mamba.
That explains the type of reception he receives whenever he is in the country on any official basketball function. So, whenever someone wants to bet on who the most loved athlete in Asia is, naming Bryant will be among the best basketball odds and picks. This is because of the population of China and its place in the Asian continent. Apart from the mobbing he gets whenever he is in China, another way to ascertain this is through the record of his jersey sales. For more than five years, he has been the athlete with the bestselling sports jersey. Another indicator is what happened on his career finale. The Tencent, which is the China NBA digital partner, recorded 110 million viewers on that day. Whenever he arrives to China, there are always thousands of people at the airports waiting for him. The number increases when he lodges in a hotel or even when he is on the courts in China.
However, this love is not going unreciprocated, as Kobe Bryant and the NBA China are partnering to open a basketball school in the country. This was revealed in a press conference that had the NBA China CEO David Shoemaker, Vice Governor of Hainan Province Wang Lu, Mission Hills Chairman Ken Chu and the NBA Legend Kobe Bryant. This partnership that is powered by Missions Hills Group and the NBA China is meant to design the first NBA basketball school in China, develop it and operate it. They are also to develop an interactive experience and store in the province of Hainan. The store will have exhibitions of multimedia items. It will retail lots of merchandise for men, women, and kids. These will include basketballs, fan apparels, accessories and jerseys.
In the school, there will be about 6 indoor courts and other complimentary state of the art facilities. While the school architecture will be designed and built by Mission Hills, it will be operated and staffed by NBA China. They will be bringing in the coaches as trained by them and will also offer the basketball curriculum that it will run on. Additional instructions will be provided by NBA legends and players in a visiting level.
The NBA China games 2017 that will hold between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves will also be promoted by the NBA China alongside Mission Hills Group. This will take place in Shenzhen Universiade Center on October 5. The rematch will come later on the 8th at the Mercedes-Benz Arena Shanghai.
