Every year, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors have a Chinese New Year Celebration night game – and this year was no different. Last year, along with the Celebration evening, the Warriors (along with the Houston Rockets) did debut a Chinese-themed uniforms.
I didn’t quite catch who Susie Chin was – I assuming some Chinese American community involved citizen in the Bay Area, sang the national anthem:
And every year since celebrating Chinese New Year, during half-time, there is usually a Chinese-themed performance. This year was a combination of a Dragon and Lion dance by San Francisco’s White Crane, with over 40 performers participating.
Prior to the game, there was a press conference for the Chinese language media press hosted by President and Chief Operating Officer for Rick Welts, answering a few questions, where Welts highlighted the large Chinese and Asian American population in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as the popularity of the NBA as well as the Golden State Warriors in China – the NBA’s largest market outside of the U.S., and the only country with its own “subsidiary” – NBA China.
After the game, there was a photo opporuntity for the Chinese language press with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee along with the San Francisco Chinese consulate delegation, along with Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton.
After Walton left the press room, the media had a chance to ask Deputy Consul General Zha Liyou questions.
Oh yeah, and there was a game 🙂 The Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets, 123-110.
