Hainan school to harness hoop hopes
Renowned as a premier golf and tennis destination, Mission Hills Resort in Hainan province is adding basketball to its impressive list of elite sporting facilities.
Developers announced on Tuesday that construction of the NBA Basketball SchoolMission Hills Haikou will begin later this year, with completion in 2019.
The school, which will feature six indoor courts and state-of-the-art training facilities, will be open to male and female players, from junior to professional levels.
Mission Hills Group will be responsible for designing and building the school, while NBA China will operate and staff the facility with leaguetrained coaches and a tailormade basketball curriculum.
Current NBA players and retired legends will visit regularly to provide additional instruction and foster player development.
Five-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star Kobe Bryant joined Mission Hills Group chairman Ken Chu, vice-chairman Tenniel Chu and NBA China CEO David Shoemaker in announcing the multiyear agreement at the resort.
“I think the important goal is not to produce the next Chinese superstar in the NBA; I think the goal is to say we want our kids be better every single day,” said Bryant.
“When that happens, great players will come naturally. You can’t flip those processes, you have to do the work every day.”
Mission Hills Resort currently boasts 22 world-class golf courses, a golf academy and a tennis training center overseen by six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker.
Chu said the basketball school is testament to the group’s commitment to developing the sports industry in China.
“We couldn’t be more excited to team up with the world’s best professional basketball league to invest in the future of the sport in China, providing the Chinese people with access to an active and healthy lifestyle and helping unearth future Chinese NBA stars,” he said.
An interactive NBA experience center and themed store, offering a wide variety of NBA merchandise, will be built alongside the school at Mission Hills.
Last fall, NBA China opened three elite basketball training centers in Zhejiang, Shandong and Xinjiang to cultivate young Chinese talent.
The league’s first training center in China, in partnership with CBA franchise Shenzhen Leopards, was opened in Dongguan, Guangdong province, in 2011.