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Jonathan White

The recent Chinese Basketball Association All-Star weekend was a chance for the sport’s most famous Chinese face (and 2.3-metre frame) to make his feelings known.
Yao Ming went to eight NBA All-Star Weekends as a player during his time in the US with the Houston Rockets. However, his view at the Qingdao get-together was from a different perspective as he’s now the man tasked with driving the success of the whole league.
By the time the Year of the Pig rolls around next month, Yao will have been the CBA chairman for two years, and at this All-Star weekend he was in a talkative mood with the Chinese press.
He admitted that there are many things the CBA needs to learn from the NBA as a league.

will jeremy lin feature in an NBA Chinese New Year commercial for a 4th straight season? pic.twitter.com/Cuq4i4HbY2
— William Lou (@william_lou) 26 January 2018

The fan experience was central to that for the fan favourite centre, who was voted All-Star starter as a rookie when the fan ballots were offered in Chinese for the first time in 2003.
That is a clue about how far ahead the NBA was even as long as 15 years ago – Yao Ming is a massive draw in China, so let’s engage those Chinese fans, the NBA quickly realised.
Not so much rocket science as Rockets savvy but proved right over the years, never more so than when Yao broke the record for All-Star votes previously held by Michael Jordan.
Even that simple online interaction is way beyond what passes for a fan experience in the CBA, and the NBA has turned on the style over the years both at home and for Chinese fans, as evidenced by the annual Lunar New Year advertising campaigns.

2️⃣0️⃣ days to @SuperBowl LIII #SBLIII x #MBStadium pic.twitter.com/45n41XhwmL
— MercedesBenzStadium (@MBStadium) 14 January 2019

It’s at the stadium fan experience where China really lags.
China’s venues are way behind the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which will host the Super Bowl next month. What’s notable is the stadium’s commitment to prices staying the same no matter what’s on, whether that’s the Super Bowl, an Atlanta Falcons NFL game, a concert or MLS champions Atlanta United.
This is part of the reason the Falcons have been rated No 1 for food and drink by NFL and MLS fans. Never mind the Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s 1,264 beer taps – you can’t get a beer at most Chinese sporting events.

No club shops and nothing more than the most rudimentary food outlets are the norm for Chinese fans. Entertainment and music are hardly abundant either although the CBA has made the best fist of this. Their cheerleaders show something has been learned from the NBA already (and the heavily promoted slide shows on Sina Sports show someone is noticing).
There’s more to go, as Yao said, and with the number of overseas leagues staging games in China every year, there should be an increased expectation from fans when they get the Western production experience on their own doorstep.
Similarly, it’s notable many European football clubs such as Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United are pushing purpose-built fan experience centres in Chinese cities.
The country’s basketball fans will see when China hosts the FIBA World Cup in August.

Yao Ming might only be able to solve basketball’s ills but they could be a cure for all the rest of Chinese sport for that matter. While there is an active press, social media interaction and engagement varies wildly from side-to-side and, as Yao says, the CBA are chasing youngsters.
“From many old fans, to the ‘post-2000’ and ‘after 2010’ births, we want to make them all followers of the CBA league,” he said. Getting new fans in is as vital in China as it is anywhere.
That’s what is driving Major League Baseball club the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that has more fans through the gates than any other in sport. They know they need to stay in front.
Dodgers owner Peter Guber has tasked newly appointed business enterprise boss Tucker Kain with engaging the Snapchat and Fortnite generation. “If you don’t grow new tomatoes, you’re not going to have much marinara sauce in the future,” he told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

.@YaoMing's first 3-pointer! We are retiring #11 to the rafters tonight at halftime. #ThankYouYao pic.twitter.com/hTjSdcNWpg
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) 3 February 2017

It’s a metaphor that might not hold as much weight for China where the fruit is not as ubiquitous as in Italian cuisine, but the spirit is right, even if when it comes to the fan, Yao is all about tradition: “In the process of learning from others, we have to find our own DNA,” he said in Qingdao.
“Every club should also have the DNA of the city to which the club belongs. For example, the DNA of Qingdao is different from that of Taiyuan. Taiyuan is different from Beijing and Guangzhou.
“In this way, a diversified league can meet the emotional sustenance of local fans.”
Fan culture with Chinese characteristics sounds like just the revolution a recipient of an Opening Up and Reform medal can deliver.


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NBA (National Basketball Association)

Yao Ming wants Chinese basketball to learn from NBA – but says local DNA is key to winning over young fans

Yao Ming is chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. Photo: AP

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2018, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers' Manny Machado watches his single against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning in Game 3 of the baseball World Series in Los Angeles. Andrew Friedman knew he was getting a player who didn't hustle all the time when he traded for Machado. Still, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations was willing to acquire the four-time All-Star infielder because his good points outweighed the bad. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2008, file photo, China's Yao Ming of the NBA's Houston Rockets reacts at the end of men's basketball game against Germany at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing. This year's Hall of Fame class includes a star-studded field of potential finalists, including Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming and Allen Iverson. That trio should be a lock to get in. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic, File)

NBA legend Yao Ming finally graduates from Shanghai University after seven years fulfilling a promise to his folks

Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming attends the graduation ceremony after earning his degree in economics from Shanghai University. Photo: Twitter

Retired Houston Rockets center Yao Ming speaks during his jersey number retirement ceremony at halftime of an NBA basketball game between the Rockets and the Chicago Bulls, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Sport

Basketball

China

Opinion

Comment

American-style fan experience is a glaring omission in Chinese game
NBA legend knows it all too well as he speaks at All-Star Weekend in Qingdao


American-style fan experience a glaring omission in Chinese game, something NBA legend knows all too well as he speaks at All-Star Weekend in Qingdao


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Opinion | Yao Ming wants Chinese basketball to learn from NBA – but says local DNA is key to winning over young fans

American-style fan experience is a glaring omission in Chinese game NBA legend knows it all too well as he speaks at All-Star Weekend in Qingdao

American-style fan experience is a glaring omission in Chinese game

NBA legend knows it all too well as he speaks at All-Star Weekend in Qingdao