An NBA yawner in China without Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian

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The NBA is fully committed to tapping into the resources in China, where a fifth of the world’s population resides and many fans have responded enthusiastically to the game.

But apparently games that don’t have much national interest in the U.S. don’t necessarily have much interest in China either. The recent exhibition series between the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks paled in comparison to the Beijing Olympic basketball tournament or games involving Chinese stars Yao Ming or Yi Jianlian or NBA superstars.

In fact, for the game in Guangzhou, scalpers were getting rid of tickets at less than face value, and for the game in Beijing, scalpers were unloading VIP tickets for less than 10% of face value. China Daily ran the story, with a poll showing fading interest, at least for these two games.

Sounds like wherever you hold the game, if you put lipstick on a so-so NBA matchup, all you’ve got is, well, just another so-so NBA game.

-- Mike James