Veteran Battier leads Peak tour

Miami Heat forward Shane Battier is hungry to win another NBA championship next season.

Battier was in Beijing on Tuesday night for the launch of the 2012 Peak NBA stars China Tour.

Battier and Houston Rockets forward Patrick Patterson were invited by Chinese sports brand Peak as basketball ambassadors to share basketball culture with Chinese fans.

“It was such a long and crazy season. Because of the lockout, I got plenty of practice in, and the main thing for me was to stay healthy and tune my body to get ready for the season,” Battier said. “A lot of pressure was taken off the team when we won the championship. It’s definitely harder (to defend the title), but we will be hungry to do it again.”

The US men’s national team, manned by the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, just won its 14th Olympic gold medal in London.

Battier, who got a bronze medal with the national team at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, said the national players will be rested and ready for the new season, which begins on Oct 30.

“I was proud to represent my country in 2006, but there are only a few spots for the Olympics, and it was fun to watch those guys play,” the 33-year-old said.

“The guys who play for the Olympic teams or World Championships teams always come back with great years for whatever reason. Look at the roster at the last Olympics — LeBron won the MVP after the last Olympics. So I’m sure the guys are tired right now after playing for the national team, but they will have a great year,” he said.

Battier and Patterson will be joined by another six NBA stars, including Beno Udrih and JaVale McGee, as they tour more than 20 Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing, in August and September.