You would never believe HOW BIG the NBA is in China.

From students turning on TVs after class ends, to asking me to check ESPN during the break between classes, to hotel lobby TVs tuned to the NBA - the Chinese follow the NBA as much as most Americans.

Many are rooting against the Utah Jazz because they beat the Houston Rockets - no matter that Yao Ming was not playing!!

Furthermore, the NBA in China is NOT a "playoffs" kind of thing.  Last November, when I was on the Island of Putoshan - the NBA was on the lobby TV and the bellhop asked me if I knew about the teams - yes, in broken English!

  There is the CBA - Chinese Basketball Association - but nothing rivals the NBA in China today.