New World Development Company is set to buy 15 percent of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, and many fans in China are predicting we'll see a Yao Ming-LeBron James combo in the future.
New World Development Company is set to buy 15 percent of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers , and many fans in China are predicting we'll see a Yao Ming-LeBron James combo in the future.
New World Development is based in Hong Kong. With pro basketball a popular sport in China, the investment more closely ties the NBA to the country; the league has already invested millions with AEG in new arenas in an effort to booth the sport's profile there. And players like Yao Ming have huge followings in China.
Which is why the news about the investment in the Cavs has fans talking about Ming playing someday for the team. The team is well-known among basketball fans there: LeBron James is recognized there as the best player on the planet.
"It's a big market, they love the game of basketball," James told Cleveland's Plain Dealer newspaper. "I've been over there the last four or five summers, and I know how much they are inspired about the game of basketball. So it could be good. It should be fun."
Of course, a lot of the Yao-James pairing is Internet-driven, which means it's mostly a lot of hooey. But it's fun to speculate, and the investment does get fans talking.
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