If last week's NBA exhibition games in China are anything to go by, star power rules in the world of professional basketball.
Bereft of local icons like Houston Rockets all-star center Yao Ming, New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian, or Team USA standouts LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the two games between Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks in Guangzhou and Beijing were not as successful as expected and did little to expand the NBA's foothold in increasingly prosperous China.
According to a public poll by leading Internet portal Sina.com, 34 percent of respondents paid no attention to the games. For those who bought tickets or watched on TV, 26 percent described the games as "boring", 23 percent bemoaned the lack of Chinese players and only 17 percent commented positively on the experience.
Some local media even went so far as to dub them the "Three No's", referring to the lack of stars, Chinese players and ultimately, the lack of significance.
Aware of these possible pitfalls, the NBA tried to focus the media's attention on the Bucks' Taiwan-born and Beijing-bred rookie Joe Alexander, as well as on Warriors coach Don Nelson, a popular figure in China due to his experience with the Dallas Mavericks where China's first NBA export Wang Zhizhi once played.
Yet the resulting attention was a mere shadow of the success and praise heaped on the 2004 China Games, billed as Yao Vs Sacramento Kings, or the 2007 Games featuring LeBron (Cavs) and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic).
In contrast to those past efforts, many media seats in Guangzhou were embarrassingly empty last Wednesday and even scalpers suffered as ticket prices nosedived from 2,800 yuan ($410) to 500 yuan ($73)on the black market.
While enthusiasm for Saturday's Beijing game was higher, fans refused to pay over the odds and scalpers ended up having to part with VIP tickets for as little as 10 percent of their face value.
Joint league
Not that this has dampened the enthusiasm of the NBA, which revealed on Saturday it hopes to bring the Rockets to China and help run a professional basketball league in the country.
"As we see new buildings (crop up), the people who will be building them and operating them will like very much to be having as many games as they can," said NBA Commissioner David Stern.
"So in one way or another we will have to provide more sports games for the very wonderful sports fans here in China."
More than 450 million people in China - more than a third of the population - watch NBA games on television and nearly as many are estimated to play the game here.
"It would be good if there was a league that was a cooperative effort between the NBA and the CBA (China Basketball Association)... definitely that is our plan, it would be our desire," said Stern.
"We would hope over time to reach some decision with the CBA about a joint cooperative league," he added Saturday.
As part of the NBA's push into China, it last week announced joint projects to build an arena in Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo and another in Guangzhou in time for the 2010 Asian Games, Stern said.
The NBA will partner with the entertainment firm AEG and Chinese investors to build and operate the arenas, with the Shanghai building expected to cost up to $277 million, the league announced earlier this week.
(Agencies, China Daily October 21, 2008)