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NBA GLOBAL GAMES MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 18, 2013Adam SilverDavid SternChen YipingLi YuyiCHEN YIPING: Respectful Commissioner David Stern, respectful deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, media friends, good evening. We are very delighted to hold this press conference with you prior to the Shanghai game, introducing the strategic partnership between the NBA and Shanghai Sports Bureau. This, in fact, indicates a closer partnership and a new chapter ahead for a future cooperation. As we know, NBA is a world‑famous sports organization. It has been succeeding in both basketball and business operation. In order to introduce and also to learn the advanced basketball concept and culture from the NBA, the Shanghai Sports Bureau and the NBA started a cooperation in 2004 and has deepened their strategic cooperation since 2012, a key measure to help build Shanghai as a strong city in sports. The partnership has consolidated the confidence and determination to grow basketball and raise the level of the sport in Shanghai. Based on the principle of improving citizens' well being, Shanghai launched its first citizens' game and both sides also plan and launched several campaigns, especially the Shoot a Million Hoops, attracting over 80,000 citizens to participate within just three days. Following our successful cooperation last year, we have extended and deepened our strategic cooperation with more enriched content, and well‑known NBA coaches and stars come to Shanghai almost every month, giving coaching lessons to basketball teams at all levels. They have helped raise the bar of the sport and won the recognition of Shanghai citizens. On behalf of the Shanghai Sports Bureau I would like to extend our thanks to the NBA for its support and help. We believe that our partnership will be even closer in the future and that more contributions will be made for the development of basketball in China. Thank you. DAVID STERN: Thank you, Mr.Chen, for those kind remarks. And thank you, Mr.Li, for your enlightened leadership of the Shanghai Bureau of Sports. I remember fondly our first game in China in 2004 right here in Shanghai. And since that time, we have had a very good collaboration with the Shanghai Sports Bureau, and we look forward to continuing that collaboration. Mr.Li and Mr.Chen and their colleagues understand the value of sport and how it can both bring people together and also develop fitness and good health. And we are always impressed by the fact that we can have the fan appreciation day in one arena and the game in another. Only Shanghai could boast two such good arenas. I'm sure we will return here many times. Xièxiè. ADAM SILVER: I'd also like to thank my good friends and terrific partners, Mr.Li and Mr.Chen, for the terrific sense of partnership and cooperation in presenting this game tonight in Shanghai. It's a privilege to be back here in Shanghai with two of the elite teams in the NBA in front of one of the most passionate fan bases in the world. As David Stern said, it's remarkable that there are two world‑class arenas here in Shanghai, and we very much enjoyed the fan appreciation day at the Oriental Sports Center earlier this week. And lastly, I want to say we could not be here tonight without the wonderful fans in Shanghai and throughout China and the terrific business partners who cooperate with us on these games, so thank you all very much. THE MODERATOR: The Shanghai Sports Bureau has a special award to present to Mr.Stern from Mr.Li here. This is actually a highly honored Shanghai sports honorary award to Mr.Stern. I believe at this stage before the match is going to start, let's just open the floor to the media. DAVID STERN: Before we take a question, I would just like to say to the media and to Mr.Li and to Mr.Chen how honored I am to receive this award, and I couldn't be prouder to be a recipient of it. Q. Mr.Commissioner, it seems that like your biggest contribution to Shanghai basketball and sports in general is offering Yao Ming a job in 2002, and now that he has retired and become a legend, and I believe you're about to open up a new chapter of your life, as well. Winning this award at this time, does it make the whole adventure over the past 20 years more emotional or special? DAVID STERN: Well, it makes it very special because I have been engaged with basketball in China probably for almost all of the 30 years that I've been commissioner, dating back to when I invited the Chinese national team in 1984 to come to the U.S. as my guests. But to see the reception and the growth of basketball here and to see the impact that Yao Ming has had is really extraordinary. We didn't offer Yao Ming a job; we were honored that he chose to play in the NBA (smiling). Q. Mr.Li, any further cooperation planned down the line between the Shanghai Sports Bureau and the NBA? LI YUYI: The Shanghai Sports Bureau has been enjoying this strategic relationship and cooperation with the NBA for about two years. We certainly would hope to extend and deepen this cooperation, and prior to this press conference we've been talking about perhaps at the end of this month or early next month how to actually deepen this kind of cooperation next year, especially each year we have almost like 10 projects to help get our citizens involved, to actually participate in basketball‑related events and campaigns. We certainly hope that the cooperation would not only raise the bar of Shanghai basketball professionally but also actually help people raise their awareness of basketball and also improve their well‑being of Shanghai citizens and also help NBA spread the NBA culture and knowledge to people throughout all these aspects and will be beneficial to all. Q. How important is Shanghai for NBA in China? ADAM SILVER: Shanghai is critically important for the NBA in China. It's the center of commerce in China. As I said earlier, you have two of the greatest sports facilities in the world, two of the greatest arenas here in Shanghai, and we look forward to decades more of cooperation with your sports bureau to continue growing the game. Q. Throughout the last two years, obviously you are pretty pleased with the strategic partnership with the NBA, and of course you still have a lot to look forward to. How would you review these strategic partnerships throughout the last two years? LI YUYI: Well, when I say I'm actually satisfied with the development, I mean actually the development of Shanghai basketball should be actually really on the same page with the internationalization of Shanghai. The pace of that, the two should be linked together. We need to bring in some quality events of a quality sport in Shanghai. We already have some campaigns or projects going on. We would like to deepen and also expand these kind of projects, including the successful ones like Shoot a Million Hoops and so forth next year. If you want me to say what my dream might be, I would like to utilize the two, as you mentioned, world‑class facilities in Shanghai to have two preseason NBA games held here. That would certainly hugely bring out the potential of development of basketball in Shanghai. Q. This game is the last of the preseason Global Games. How has the experience been, and will this be occurring again? DAVID STERN: The experience in China has been‑‑ are you saying how has the experience been? Q. Of the Global Games. DAVID STERN: Well, first let me say the experience in China has been great, and you've witnessed it. But Adam came from Rio and reported that it was the same in Rio. I was in Manila and Taipei, and it was the same there. And Heidi Ueberroth was in Istanbul and it was the same there, and Rod Thorn, president of basketball operations, was in Manchester as well as Istanbul and Bilbao along with Joel Litvin, who was in Istanbul and Bilbao, and the reports are that all the buildings have been sold out, all the fans have been deeply engaged, all of our partners, both sponsors and television, have been very, very pleased. So we couldn't be happier with the Global Games, and we're very much looking forward to the two games that we're playing in December in Mexico City and in January in London. But Shanghai was the best. ADAM SILVER: And I will only add that I look forward to the next generation of airplanes because it took me 24 hours of flying to get from Rio, Brazil, to Beijing, China, so presumably the technology yet to come will make the flights a little bit faster. Q. Mr.Stern, from the very beginning when you brought NBA preseason games to China, up to this point what are the changes that you have seen so far and what are you looking forward to down the line? And Mr.Li, the two regular games which will be held in Mexico City and London, will there be any chance for Shanghai to have this chance after Shanghai's relentless efforts, so to speak, to bring regular season games to Shanghai one day? DAVID STERN: The changes since 2004 have been extraordinary. We played in a building that needed lighting, video, sound system, locker room upgrade and basketball court. Today we have the beautiful Oriental Sports Arena and the Mercedes‑Benz Arena. And I think that the level of cooperation with the Shanghai Sports Bureau means that we will continue to favor Shanghai with games in the future. Regular season games are for Commissioner Silver and Mr.Li to decide (laughter). LI YUYI: Well, I believe actually because of the deepened cooperation and extended cooperation between Shanghai SSB and also NBA, I firmly believe that one day this will happen, and I wonder if actually Mr.Silver concurs with me. (Laughter.) ADAM SILVER: I do, and it would be helpful to have those faster planes that I mentioned earlier. (Laughter.) DAVID STERN: We're working on rocket ships. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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