18-08-2011

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The 2011 LeBron James Basketball Visits Xian and Shanghai »

As a part of the 2011 LeBron James Basetball Tour, Nike and LeBron James spend two days coaching and playing with young athletes in the ancient Chinese capital of Xi’an. Day five of the tour touched down in Xi’an, Shaanxi province. Located in the central part of the country, Xi’an is one of the oldest cities in all of China, boasting more than 3,100 years of history. Day six of the tour took James to Chang’an University for a skills clinic with top talent from both the Xi’an Summer Nights King of the Court and Ballers Network tournaments. As with the clinics in Taipei and Chengdu, the skills clinic participants were eager to practice with one of the best players in the world. Throughout this tour, James has been asked on many occasions whether he would consider playing overseas next season in the event of an extended lockout. His answer has remained consistent. “I’m preparing everyday for an NBA season. I’m very optimistic about both sides coming together to make sure we have a season. So I’ve been very focused on training to get ready for that.”

Yesterday, The 2011 LeBron James Greater China Tour landed in Shanghai in advance of the Nike Festival of Sport. In the morning, James went to Shanghai Sports University to hold a skills clinic for the teams who qualified from all over China to participate in the Nike 2011 Tournament of Champions, which will be held tomorrow at the Nike Festival of Sport. In the afternoon, James headed over to a Nike Store in downtown Shanghai to meet up with fans and talk about his new Nike Max Air Ambassador IV. A sea of fans, estimated at over five thousand, flooded the plaza outside the store in anticipation of James’ arrival. Once he emerged from his van, fans burst into a roaring ovation heard blocks away. “It’s great to be in Shanghai again,” beamed James to his fans inside the store. “The fans here are always amazing.” Conclusion to the tour promises to be even more exciting with the much-anticipated Nike Festival of Sport set to kick-off its basketball portion of the event.