NBA stars fuel basketball mania in China

Kobe Bryant of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers talks to young players from his training camp in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, Aug 15, 2012. It is Bryant's seventh consecutive summer visit to China. A five-time NBA champion and 14-time All-Star, Bryant enjoys an overwhelming popularity in China. His jersey sales topped the Chinese market in all of the past six years. China sees an influx of big-name NBA stars on sponsor-backed visits every summer. Besides Bryant, Jeremy Lin of the Houston Rockets and Shane Battier of Miami Heat are also in China meeting fans. LeBron James of the Heat and Kevin Durant of Oklahoma Thunder will kick off their China tour later this month. And the NBA announced earlier this month that they will hold two preseason game in Beijing and Shanghai, on Oct 11 and 14. The two teams are defending champion Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers. [Photo/CFP]