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T-Mac in focus as season starts
Source: AFP |
November 24, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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TRACY McGrady will make one of the most hotly anticipated debuts in Chinese basketball history this weekend after a fevered build-up in which he caused a near-riot at one of his sellout appearances.
The hype surrounding McGrady, a former teammate of Yao Ming, has sent excitement soaring for the start of the Chinese Basketball Association which will feature three ex-National Basketball Association All Stars for the first time.
McGrady, 33, who played with Yao at the Houston Rockets during a 15-year NBA career, and fellow All Stars Stephon Marbury and Gilbert Arenas head a cohort of 28 ex-NBA players who have made a new start in China.
Their presence has helped persuade fans to ignore hefty price rises and snap up tickets for the 17-strong league, which precedes an eight-team championship playoff in February.
"McGrady will ensure that attendance in every arena throughout China will rise," commented Basketball Pioneers, China's leading hoops newspaper.
Marbury's Beijing Ducks, the reigning champions, open the season against Yao-owned Shanghai Sharks today, while the Fujian Sturgeons will host McGrady's Qingdao Eagles tomorrow.
McGrady caused a sensation when he signed for Qingdao last month, selling out each of the club's three preseason exhibition matches against a team of American players.
The seven-time NBA All Star scored 34 points in 28 minutes in the second game, but there were angry scenes when he played only 98 seconds of the final warm-up this week. Fans hurled water bottles and other objects and chanted for McGrady to play, bringing the game to an early halt as the shooting guard was ushered from the court by security guards, the Sina.com web portal said.
"China is the place where I have the most loyal and passionate fans. I played in the NBA for 15 years. The time was just perfect for me to come here to play," McGrady told reporters earlier.
He will look to follow the trail blazed by Marbury, who last year led Beijing to its first ever CBA title and was honored with a bronze statue outside the Wukesong arena.
The hype surrounding McGrady, a former teammate of Yao Ming, has sent excitement soaring for the start of the Chinese Basketball Association which will feature three ex-National Basketball Association All Stars for the first time.
McGrady, 33, who played with Yao at the Houston Rockets during a 15-year NBA career, and fellow All Stars Stephon Marbury and Gilbert Arenas head a cohort of 28 ex-NBA players who have made a new start in China.
Their presence has helped persuade fans to ignore hefty price rises and snap up tickets for the 17-strong league, which precedes an eight-team championship playoff in February.
"McGrady will ensure that attendance in every arena throughout China will rise," commented Basketball Pioneers, China's leading hoops newspaper.
Marbury's Beijing Ducks, the reigning champions, open the season against Yao-owned Shanghai Sharks today, while the Fujian Sturgeons will host McGrady's Qingdao Eagles tomorrow.
McGrady caused a sensation when he signed for Qingdao last month, selling out each of the club's three preseason exhibition matches against a team of American players.
The seven-time NBA All Star scored 34 points in 28 minutes in the second game, but there were angry scenes when he played only 98 seconds of the final warm-up this week. Fans hurled water bottles and other objects and chanted for McGrady to play, bringing the game to an early halt as the shooting guard was ushered from the court by security guards, the Sina.com web portal said.
"China is the place where I have the most loyal and passionate fans. I played in the NBA for 15 years. The time was just perfect for me to come here to play," McGrady told reporters earlier.
He will look to follow the trail blazed by Marbury, who last year led Beijing to its first ever CBA title and was honored with a bronze statue outside the Wukesong arena.
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