NBA aiming to dunk soccer's global status

Deputy commissioner puts priority on extending league's growth in China

NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum has been racking up air miles since taking the league's No 2 post in February as he bids to have basketball, which is currently enjoying an all-time high in China, replace soccer as the world's favorite sport.

"Our goal is to become the No 1 sport globally," Tatum told China Daily in Shanghai last week, having wrapped up another business trip to South Africa in August.