The main matchup of the evening was between Stephon Marbury and former Lakers starting guard Smush Parker. Parker had 13 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds while Marbury more than held his own with a 15 point, 15 assist and 4 rebound effort. Marbury still hasn’t managed to find his shot (which at this point could be lost forever) and was 4-18 shooting overall. His 3 point shooting has been particularly shaky (must be those close 3 point lines) with a 1-7 showing that has brought his CBA 3pt shooting % to a measly 8%. Starbury aka The Lone Wolf aka Taiyuan’s Finest also had 3 fouls, 3 turnovers, 3 steals, and 1 block in 43 minutes of play .

Stephon Marbury’s team is now in last place in the CBA. The only consolation at this point is that this is a situation Marbury is fairly accustomed to.

The next match for the Shanxi Zhongyu will be another tough one, they go head to head with 3rd place (16-3)  Zhejiang Guangsha Lions on February 5th.

To see video highlights of the game, go here. To read the full game report, check out Anthony Tao’s live blogging of the game. Also worth checking out is his fantastic report for Deadspin where he accurately presents the Marbury in China story from a truly human perspective.

But how about we focus on the positives? 7-11 from the field, 4 steals, 15 points, and the right play down the stretch when he unselfishly set up the team’s leading scorer and hot hand Maurice Taylor for a chance to win the game. In fact, Marbury even went on to apologize for his team’s loss and promised a brighter future:

“I’m sorry about the game last night. I wish we would have won for you guys. I will get better every game, I promise. I hope all is well with you guys and thanks for the support last night.”

It’s hard to criticize Marbury in this case – he has taken a lot of time off basketball, is clearly not at 100% yet, and must be experiencing some serious jet-lag and culture shock. Nevertheless, he went out and played as well as he could, made no excuses, and comforted the fans… it’s almost as if he’s ready to embrace the role of, might I say….*gulp*… a franchise player!

Marbury’s next game will be on February 3rd against the Guangdong Southern Tigers who stand at the top of the CBA currently with their impressive 17-1 record. It should be Marbury’s first appearance on national television, and it will surely be an interesting one to watch.

The CBA…where Marbury happens!

You see where this is going?

Gilbert Arenas’ image in the United States is ruined. His sponsors have abandoned him, his team has removed all traces of his existence, and his contract might get voided. If that happens, then what better place for Gilbert Arenas to redefine himself than China? Think about it, Gilbert Arenas can never be himself in the US again, people have decided that he is a lunatic and any further pranks, jokes, or outspoken behavior by the former All-Star will be deeply frowned upon and not tolerated. We already know that Arenas can’t keep his mouth shut, or stop being a goofball. He had a short stint where he decided not to talk to the media, where he decided to become a serious team leader, where he said he wouldn’t Tweet – but we saw how all of that ended up.

The only possible evolution of this situation is for Gilbert Arenas to come to China. He’s funny, smart, social, open to try new things, oh and yea…he’s also the guy who scored 60 points on Kobe Bryant at the Staples Center.

Gilbert Arenas can not rot in the US and have his innovative mind, creative personality, and slick basketball skills go to waste. At the end of the day he pulled a bad prank, a horrible misjudged and downright stupid prank that went as far as breaking the law. That doesn’t mean he deserves to be erased from society – and if the United States doesn’t want him, then I think on behalf of the Chinese people I can say that he is welcome here.

I don’t care what needs to be done, but this must happen. Someone call up Li-Ning, Peak, Erke, Anta or any company in China with a little bit of courage to take a chance. Call up Yao Ming and his team running the Shanghai Sharks, or one of the 16 other teams in the China Basketball Association looking to avoid another subpar year and let’s make this happen***.

***Asylum at the Chinese Embassy in case of prison sentence not included.

This makes Marbury the highest profile foreign basketball player to ever play in the CBA, and at age 32 he still has a lot left in the tank.  Marbury takes the title of most renown basketball player to ever play professionally in China from  Bonzi Wells  – who was also signed by Shanxi but left the club after just 2 months despite leading the league in scoring with a ridiculous 46 points per game average.

While he’s only a shadow of his former self, Marbury still has plenty of athleticism left in him and more skills than most NBA point guards today. However, in his later days in the NBA “Coney Island’s finest” was seen more of a laughing stock than a streetball legend. His weird interviews, unorthodox post game statements, and fast decline as a basketball player as last seen for the Boston Celtics last year make him an interesting target to follow, and will perhaps spark interest in the CBA from abroad.

As for Marbury’s entrepreneurial side, it’s nothing short of remarkable. The Starbury Brand which he and Ben Wallace endorse is marketed by clothing retail chain Steve & Barry’s  and manufactured in China. The Starbury brand has been the  former All-Star point guard’s main source of passion for some time now, and even sparked a debate between himself and LeBron James:

Prior to a game, upon being asked whether he could see himself promoting a shoe at the 15$ price point that Marbury’s shoes are priced  at.”No, I don’t think so,” James said. “Me being with Nike, we hold our standards high.”

Stephon’s response – “I’d rather own than be owned.”

Marbury mentions his younger days and not being able to afford a good pair of basketball shoes as his main inspiration behind the business – and what better place to continue his mission of making accessible cheap and high quality shoes than in China . There were speculation for some time now that he would play somewhere in Italy and promote his basketball shoes there, but it seems the right business move to promote his brand in China instead. Stephon’s long been known in his career for failing to lead his team to any kind of success, but in China he has his shot at redemption  – even if it is for a much different kind of success.

Despite not expected to play a single minute of NBA action this season, Yao Ming could have the busiest year of his life in 2010. He is currently the ambassador of the 2010 Shanghai Expo, the leading figure in the revival of the Shanghai Sharks, the anchor at the heart of China’s 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship hopes in Turkey this summer, but all those will have to cease way to something much more important come July: the arrival of Yao Ming’s first child.

The news broke out through Guangzhou Daily when Ye Li’s friend and Chinese Basketball Team teammate Miao Lijie let out the following answer when asked why Ye hadn’t attended a 2010 expo show with her:

“Pregnant woman deserves less public activities”

Ye Li (Yao Ming’s wife) and Yao Ming tied the knot back in August 2007 with a spectacular wedding in Shanghai. Almost three years later, they are expecting their first child - who’s gender most likely won’t be revealed until birth due to China’s laws on the matter.

Whatever the gender, Ye Li at 6′2 (1.90 meters) and Yao Ming at 7′6 (2.26 meters) are expected to produce a baby of epic proportions. In fact, it has become a popular topic of discussion amongst the highly speculative Chinese netizens. In a poll conducted by Chinese news portal Sina, 39 percent of participants predicted that Lil Yao will be taller than 2 meters but not pass his/her father’s height, 23 percent predicted that Little Yao has a good chance to surpass the 7′6 mark set by Yao while 9.4 percent believe that 2 meters is the limit for the child. Medical experts on the other hand calculate that if male the height is likely to be from 2 – 2.1 meters, while if female from 1.94-2.08 meters.

Yao Ming and wife Ye Li are currently both residing in Shanghai, and Yao Ming’s season ending injury now might come as a blessing in disguise. Altough on second thought, a July 2010 conception and a little backwards math indicates that this was not a coincidence after all. Being one of the most hardworking individuals on the planet and with probably more expectations than anyone not named Barack Obama, we can only wish Yao Ming the best as he takes a well deserved rest from Basketball and focuses on his family.

Oh and little Miss Lijie let out another bomb to the media:

“Ye looks well now and sleeps early every day for the wellbeing of the fetus. The couple hopes to have a boy,” said Miao Lijie.

For the sake of Chinese Basketball, I have similar hopes for Little Yao.

This brings us to today and the sudden transformation of a basketball team, a city, and perhaps of the sporting world in general. It all started more than a year ago when Cavaliers Vice-Chairman and part owner David Katzman and his Camelot Venture Group (amidst a business fallout with majority owner Dan Gilbert), decided to sell a part of the Cleveland Cavaliers in China. Prospective buyers were narrowed down, and over the past year negotiations and details have been ironed out. In Mr. Katzman’s own words, the background of the buyer was of importance in making the deal work:

“It was very important to us that whoever acquired our ownership piece be able to add value to the team and also realize the appreciation to the value of the team that was created over the past 4 years.”

This is where Kenny Huang came in, the young, smart, and connected Chinese business man that has as good insight on the China-US business world as you can possibly find. He is the man who has been involved both at home and abroad trying to take advantage of the growth of basketball in Asia and China’s growing sports marketing opportunities. Huang had put together a group of investors several months ago that looked ready to buy a significant stake in the Cavs, but several of the investors have meanwhile changed – prolonging this process longer than expected.

It was announced yesterday that the deal has been finalized with Albert Hung (Hung Chao Hong), one of the richest man in Hong Kong, as the primary financier of the deal – making him the first Chinese owner of an American sports franchise. The Cleveland Cavaliers are valued around $475 million  by Forbes, which would mean that Albert Hung will pay out a sum near $60 million  in cash to acquire the rights to 15% of the Cleveland Cavaliers from David Katzman.

This may seem like an interesting way to finance an American basketball team, but it’s not unheard of. Although investment tends to come from sources more traditional than a big-time player at partypoker.com china, getting investors interested is always important – the UK’s Chelsea Football Club became one of the best in the world once Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich invested his considerable wealth in their upkeep. It just goes to show – money from the outside is never something to turn down.

Unlike New Jersey’s soon to be new Russian owner and controversial figure Mikhail Prokhorov, Albert Hung is the ideal owner for an NBA franchise. As Cleveland.com reports:

Hung is a member of numerous powerful groups and committees including: the Standing Committee of National Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Vice President of China Sports Foundation, Vice Chairman of Major Sports Events Committee, the President of All Stars Sports Association Ltd. of Hong Kong, and Vice President and Director of the South China Athletic Association.

Perhaps his most valuable political affiliation is with the Hong Kong Selection Committee, which is the group that elects the chief executive of the massive Asian commerce and cultural hub.

If there were those wondering what kind of business opportunities and synergy this sort of deal would open up, few precious hours were wasted answering such concerns. Tsingtao, China’s most popular beer and also most well known international brand, has just signed a multi-year partnership with the Quicken Loans Arena and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The partnership will no doubt increase Tsingtao’s image and reputation in international markets as well as strengthening it’s brand back on home soil. Millions of basketball fans will be able to see Tsingtao billboards and ads plastered around the stadium through the 34 Cavs games scheduled to broadcast in China during the 09-10 NBA season. Further details of the deal include:

In addition to being the exclusive Chinese beer of Quicken Loans Arena, the Tsingtao partnership elements include:

• LED signage during Cavaliers games and Quicken Loans Arena events
• Permanent signage inside Quicken Loans Arena for all arena events (close to 200 annually)
• Basket pole pad signage for Cavaliers games
• Hospitality benefits during Cavaliers game and Quicken Loans Arena events
• Ad placement in Tip Off Tonight, the Cavaliers official game night program
• Strong presence on digital properties, cavs.com and CavFanatic.com
• Community relations outreach program designed to educate and share cultural ideas in northeast Ohio

As can be seen, the Cleveland Cavaliers are well on their way to an exciting journey along with their Chinese business owners. The opportunities and potential out there is immense and the pieces have already started moving. One major determinant of the success of the Cleveland Cavaliers will no doubt be LeBron James himself. LeBron’s free agency tales have been a topic of discussion forever it seems, or at least ever since he set foot into an NBA arena. If LeBron’s actions are anything to go by, it seems that there is some legitimate threat that the King could leave the Cavaliers at the end of this season and go somewhere like New York where the lights shine brighter, and the audience is more befitting for a King.

This seemed plausible … until the recent Chinese invasion of Cleveland. While New York and the Madison Square Garden might have been the grandest of stages before, that has been surpassed today with the possibility of playing on aged Chinese TV sets across China’s provinces becoming a far more appealing prospect – particularly for an athlete that’s primary goal (besides Championships) is to be the world’s first sports billionaire. As it looks now, with the Cavs built to contend for years, the Knicks on a hopeless path down mediocracy, and the “Chinalization” of the Cavaliers – it would be foolish for LeBron to go anywhere.

This is the story of how a troubled sporting city in the middle of the United States was first saved by a King and then by the Middle Kingdom. This story, has just begun.

“American Basketball Association (ABA) Joins in $200 Million Global Expansion.”

I must admit, I thought that the ABA had died in 1976 when it officially merged with the NBA. When I think of the ABA, I think of the blue/red/white ‘money’ ball (used today in the NBA three point contest), of Julius Erving, and of afros and tight shorts. So I had to check out what this league was all about and headed over to their official site, www.abalive.com. The long domain name didn’t do much to settle my suspicions and upon witnessing the website, which ironically looks like it was made in 1976, I started thinking I must be on an episode of Punk’d.

I then began reading the latest news from their news feed to try to catch up with this mysterious league that had just dawned upon me. One recent news headline stated that two NBA players would be going head to head on opening night: Isaiah “JR” Rider (NBA dunk champ) and Anthony “Pig” Miller (a nobody). Another news was announcing that Troy “Escalade” Jackson (of And1 fame) was named the assistant coach of the Florida Thundercats. Then there was the news that 9 ABA teams would be playing games in China. I wanted to see one of the teams so I decided to check out the team page of the “Los Angeles SLAM” . The website look dodgy with a logo that seemed to be stolen from Slam Magazine and site design stolen from a MySpace teenager high on Mountain Dew, but regardless….the famous rapper “The Game” was on the team!

It seemed that this league was making things happen and well worth the attention. Finally I saw a big headline that was the biggest piece of linkbait I had ever seen:

“Owning a professional sports team is fun and profitable experience. Contact us for more info!”

All I had to do was fill in a simple form and I could own a pro sports team and be the next Mark Cuban?!

That was all I could take, I had to head over to Wikipedia and find out what in the world this was all about. Turns out, I wasn’t in the middle of a dream, this league really existed and the rights of the ABA were bought back from the NBA around 1999. However the league had seen its fair share of incidents and seemed more disorganized than the kindergarden basketball leagues where I first started playing. Teams didn’t show up to road games, left in the middle of season, and only around 35% of the games were actually played in the 2007-2008 seasons. Having said that, I was still interested in this China team participating in the league – but upon reading further, it would have probably been better to leave the matter alone:

“Another team that only played home games was Beijing Aoshen Olympic. This team was kicked out of the Chinese Basketball League and played home games in Singapore. Beijing would pay $3000 and fly teams to Singapore for a 2-game homestand. Early teams complained on Our Sports Central that they were forced to stay in a hotel that doubled as a brothel. Joe Newman CEO forced Beijing to find a new hotel on hearing this news. Later teams stayed in a Holiday Inn.”

(On a side note, Beijing Aoshen were kicked out of the CBA due to refusing to surrender their star point guard to the junior national squad in 2004.The player in question was Sun Yue who recently won a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers).

This brings us back to today and this CNN story of this 200 million $ global expansion that has just been announced (to me at least). 200 million is not a small amount, it’s around the same as what minority stakeholders Disney and Bank of China among others paid to acquire 11% of the NBA China entity back in January 2008. Who would part with such a large sum and take on this massive challenge of epic proportions was the new question brewing inside my head. The answer to that is none other than Paul Monozca, a Singapore-based Filipino sportsman-businessman who also holds the following lofty titles: investment banker, sports philanthropist, international fiancier, global kingpin..ok so the last one I made up. It’s no one I had heard of before, but someone that should be on any basketball enthusiasts’ to-follow list from this day on if his aspirations are anything to go by:

The ABA Global expansion initiatives will include a player exchange program, participation in a China-based league, the ABA USA League itself, and the ABA’s World Basketball Cup in Atlanta in 2011. Mr. Monzoca’s vision is certainly optimistic:

“The ABA Global program is timely. When countries see their very own players and teams play with the benchmark that is American basketball, it gives basketball a whole new meaning. This is global basketball with national pride worldwide.”

The key allure of this league is that it caters to smaller cities which NBA teams can’t target to in the US, and allows foreign teams to play against top global competition on an international level. If the management, organization, and marketing falls into place, it will mark an interesting global league that hasn’t really ever seen the light of day in basketball. Their first summit which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada will feature big names such as Dr. J and George Gervin and should get them much needed publicity.

I’m never one to discount crazy and wild ideas, and I won’t make an exception this time regardless of the negative press this league has received in the past with many looking at it as somewhat of a joke. Fact is that basketball is on its way to becoming the most popular sport in the world and there hasn’t ever been a proper global initiative to make it a global competition. The NBA has such a plan many years down the road and they surely have their reasons for taking their time. So until then, I can only extend my best wishes to the rebirth of the ABA and will surely be keeping an eye out on them. I have a feeling I won’t be the only one.

The 18,000 seat arena being built at Shanghai’s World Expo Site is  still underway, being currently jointly built by partners AEG and NBA as well as the Oriental Pearl Group (of the Shanghai Media Group). The $280 million stadium is being constructed around the Huangpu River and will have a look reminiscing a clam or a flying saucer, depending on personal taste. A glimspe of what the arena will look like can be seen in the artist rendering displayed below .

Shanghai Mercedes Benz Arena

In what is considered a first in China – the NBA and AEG have managed to sell the naming rights of this arena for an estimated value of ~$100 million (terms of the deal have not been announced and analysts estimate anywhere from 75-150$ million dollars)  to German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz. The stadium will be ready in time for the 2010 expo set to begin in May, but the deal and naming of the stadium will only begin in 2011 and last a total of 10 years. To put the price in perspective, Staples had to pay $100 million for the rights to name the arena where the prestigious Los Angeles Lakers play along with the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Kings (NHL) for a contract lasting 20 years.

Shanghai is considered by some as the capital of Asia, and the business center of the soon to be superpower of the world. Many companies were interested in placing their name on Shanghai’s number one arena to be, but it took a company of Mercedes’ size, ambition and growth prospects (55% growth in China in first 9 months of 2009) in China to get such an astronomical figure. Analysts predict that it will be near impossible for Mercedes-Benz to get adequate returns on this investment (even with a showroom for its cars, and exlusive rights relating to the Arena) but according to Mercedes-Benz China CEO Klaus Maier, this deal is about more than that:

“The new Mercedes-Benz Arena will reinforce Shanghai as culturally-rich city on the world map and create a new destination of arts and lifestyle on the international stage.”

Tim Chen, NBA China CEO, also agrees:

“Mercedes-Benz Arena will truly become Shanghai’ s and all of China’ s state-of-the-art showplace for culture, arts, sports and entertainment events when this world-class arena debuts. With the help of our partners, we are certain this arena will be the premier destination for sports, entertainment and cultural events in Shanghai.”

In essence, the above claims are more than just PR jargon and hold some valid and important claims. China is still a hugely undevelopped market in terms of entertainment, arts, lifestyle and sports. It’s a country with rich culture and much to offer on the grandest of stages (as was demonstarted in the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony), but so far a lack of business experience, logistical capabilities, and market know-how have kept this potentially enormous market dormant. The NBA and AEG were well aware of these limitations when commiting to build world class arenas all around China, and they stepped in trying to change that course. Basketball was the main factor in pushing such a project, but hardly the only factor.

Already, companies involved with the deal have said the arena will include recreational elements such as a cinema, public ice skating rink, bowling alley, live music club and retail space. Top performers from all four corners of arts and entertainment world have already started flocking to the Pearl of the Orient – and the arena will only attract more. Shanghai is a metropolis in dire need of commercialization and proper marketing of cultural showcases, and Mercedes-Benz have acquired the rights to be in the same sentence of every conversation we will have about this booming market in the next decade.

Putting aside Mercedes-Benz and the new arena, this is no doubt a tremendous development for the sports business in China. While there have been previous namings of stadiums in China after sponsors (most notably the Chinese Super League football team Shaanxi Neo-China Chanba playing in the Shaanxi Coca-Cola Stadium), it is the first major arena to sell naming rights. The sports marketing field never managed to develop as rapidly as predicted following the Beijing Olympics, but this development is sure to give new hope and inspiration to those in the industry.

After 5 weeks of being out with a sprain that bothered  his right knee, Yi was expected to return on Sunday to play against the New York Knicks. However, it seems that his series of unfortunate events hasn’t ended quite yet. He was accidentaly hit by teammate Sean Williams during a 3 on 3 scrimmage where Yi went up to contest a dunk, opening a gash inside Yi’s upper lip. Yi wanted to continue playing afterwards, but he was told he needed medical attention. Now it seems that it will be one more week until Yi Jianlian can hit the hardwood again.

This happened days after being reunited with his new assitant Coach Del Harris, who at one time coached the China National Basketball team. The good news out of all of this? Yi got a piece of the ball and Sean Williams’ dunk missed. The bad news? It cost 50 stiches.

One part of the new deal will see NBA experienced coaches,trainers, and even nutritionists lecture at the CBA’s exisiting coaching camps. But the more interesting aspect will be Chinese coaches in the making having the chance to travel to the US to experience first hand how teams are run by learning through NBDL teams and coaches. They will be able to attend practices as well as receive personal training from the NBDL coaches. Things are also working the other way around, with American coaches coming to coach in the CBA as is the case with the Shanghai Shark’s new head coach, Bob Donewald Jr.

Many have wondered when exactly the NBA will make its defining move and stamp its brand on an actual league in China. This latest development signals that the NBA is taking things slowly and is still quite a long way away from any such major steps.

At the heart of the matter is the reality that has sunk in that the basketball level in China is still in need of major improvement before the NBA can really be fully associated with it.

Recent basketball development concerning China has not been encouraging. It started with the defeat at the FIBA Asian Basketball Championships during the summer. China was hosting the competition in Tianjin and were eager to take back the Asian trophy they had relinquished two years ago, but yet were handily defeated by 18 points in the finals by a tougher and more organized Iranian side. The lack of Yao Ming both in these championships and around NBA circles has highlighted once again the massive importance he holds for basketball in the PRC. It was expected that there would be promising players ready to carry forward the progress of Chinese basketball but those are expectations are crashing quite rapidly.

Yi Jianlian was banked on to be among the leading candidates to take over the rains, but he disappointed with his lackluster performance in the Asian Championships. Furthermore, in the  2009-2010 NBA season he was injured after only 4 games and his team, the New Jersey Nets, might just make history as the worst team in the history of the NBA. Sun Yue similarly has been a big disappointment being first waved by the Lakers for salary cap reasons, followed by the lowly New York Knicks. One would have thought the Knicks could have at least used him for Marketing purposes with the city’s large Asian population and poor basketball record, but instead Sun now finds himself back in Beijing. This, compounded with all the troubles the CBA is facing at home, is making it quite clear that a lot of work still needs to be done.

A while back, I had a conversation with a Basketball Director from Nike China and he told me that in 10 years, China will have caught up with the rest of the world in terms of basketball capabilities. I was shocked to hear the claim then, and I’m equally not sure of it now. While NBA China, sports consultancies, and even the CBA have taken big steps in the right direction, there are still some crucial elements that I believe are being ignored. Next time, I will share ideas I believe need to be considered to really step up the development of basketball in China.