Fireworks, family, and lots of NBA games

BEIJING - The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced it will host its first-ever NBA Chinese New Year Celebration from Jan 21-28. The comprehensive, week-long NBA Chinese New Year Celebration 2012 will pay tribute to the league's Chinese fan base with games, customized coverage and a variety of NBA-themed events in China and the United States.

The NBA, with the support of its television and digital partners in China, will recognize and celebrate the Year of the Dragon with customized coverage of 21 games across CCTV 5, BTV, GDTV, GZTV, NowTV, NBA TV, Sina and Tencent. NBA China marketing partners Boshiwa International Holding Limited, Dongfeng Aeolus and PEAK Sports are co-presenting partners of the NBA Chinese New Year Celebration 2012.

During the celebration, Chinese fans will be able to watch top NBA teams, including the 2010-11 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, featuring Chinese player Yi Jianlian, as well as the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tipping off Chinese New Year and continuing throughout the week, the Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors will host in-arena celebrations on Jan 23 and Jan 28 respectively. Fans in attendance will experience activities paying tribute to Chinese culture. The players will wear specially-designed Chinese New Year shooting shirts from adidas, the league's official outfitter, which will be available for fans worldwide at NBAStore.com.

Fans in China will be able to vote for the most valuable player of all games broadcast on Sina and Tencent on the official NBA microblogs on Sina, Tencent and Tencent Q zone.

"Chinese New Year is a fun time of the year and we wanted to join in the festivities and show appreciation to our fans," said NBA spokeswoman Heidi Ueberroth. "With the help of our great partners, we will celebrate the year of the Dragon with exciting matchups, customized content, and a variety of Chinese New Year-themed fan activities in China and the US."

"We are pleased to provide our viewers with a special week of NBA games as they enjoy the Spring Festival holidays with their families," said Jiang Heping, CCTV 5's head of sports.

There will be special programming, features and player greetings throughout the week on NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA.com/China and NBA Zhizao, an NBA lifestyle program that airs throughout China.

To tip off the 21-game schedule, CCTV 5 will televise the Jan 21 game between the Minnesota Timberwolves, led by the league's reigning Most Improved Player, Kevin Love, and rookie Ricky Rubio, and the Los Angeles Clippers featuring the 2010-11 NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin and all-star guard Chris Paul.

To wrap up the festivities, the league will host a fan viewing party in Beijing on Jan 28.

China Daily