Reaching hearts and minds
New Rockets ownership must grow the team’s global footprint
Can Kal watched the Rockets on TV when he was a child in Sakarya, Turkey, and was mesmerized. • He immediately became a fan after watching Tracy McGrady. • Years later, Kal, 24, is a basketball coach in Turkey, and remains a Rockets fan. • Like most of the teams in the NBA, the Rockets are more accessible than they’ve ever been to Kal. He can find them on television in Turkey occasionally, follow them online in his language, keep up with Twitter accounts dedicated to Rockets news. • Someday, he hopes to see them play in person.
Kal, like so many other international fans of the team, hopes the new Rockets owner will keep them in mind.
Through a translator Friday, Kal said he hopes the team’s new owner will take the Rockets to events in other countries and keep growing the Rockets all over the world.
Kal and the millions of international fans can rest easy. The team might be in flux right now, but the new owner(s) would be foolish not to see how the Rockets’ global appeal makes this a special franchise.
When Leslie Alexander put the team up for sale this past week, the questions as to who would take over were immediate. Will the team stay in Houston? Will the new owner keep the same philosophies the Rockets have stuck to the past few seasons? Will it be one person or group? And the rumors started soon after. No matter how this plays out and who ends up buying the team, one priority must stay in place for the franchise.
The Rockets need to keep growing on the international stage.
This team is one of the most successful in the league when it comes to international relations.
Rockets leading the way
As the NBA has grown across the globe, a few teams have led the way. The Rockets are one of those. In 2004, along with Sacramento, the Rockets played in the first NBA games in China. It was a big step in a giant market. What made it even bigger was that the Rockets featured a young Yao Ming. The rest, as they say, is history. The Rockets have continued to be the favorite team in China and hopefully that will remain the case.
“In China, most NBA fans usually root for specific players over teams, but the Rockets are different,” said Michael Yuan, senior editor for ESPN’s China partnership. “Because of Yao, an entire generation of Chinese fans finally found a team to root for, no matter which player is on the team. People always remember the days when they watched Yao dominate on the court. Even after Yao retired, the Rockets always had and continue to have several Chinese sponsorship deals even in years without a Chinese player. The new owner needs to keep this relationship with China to maintain the Rockets’ international influence and the benefits gained for team revenue.”
The Rockets once again have a Chinese player since Zhou Qi arrived earlier this offseason.
They also have foreign-born players Nene (Brazil), Clint Capela (Switzerland) and Luc Mbah a Moute (Cameroon.)
As the Rockets move forward, keeping up international relations will remain a priority.
And they represent one of the most culturally diverse cities in America.
Appeal across cultural lines
The Rockets’ appeal to so many different cultures is one of the reasons the team is worth a Forbes-estimated $1.65 billion.
The team typically has five or six major partnerships with companies based in China. Several other companies, including Peak and ZTE, are Rockets sponsors.
The NBA’s reach continues to grow as fans in Europe and Asia flock to restaurants and bars or gather in groups at each other’s houses for watch parties.
Avery Ellis, 34, said he and his friends have found a handful of pubs in London where they gather alongside soccer fans to catch Rockets games.
“When I was small here, we never saw basketball on,” he said via email. “We only watched football. Now, you can find the NBA games, too. It’s easier to be a fan. I hope we will be able to watch the Rockets play here some day.”
When someone buys the Rockets, they won’t just be getting a team in southeast Texas.
This team is gaining steam all over the world.
“I don’t care who owns the team next,” Ellis said. “But I care that the Rockets and the other NBA teams keep finding ways to be accessible to us. I get more into them every season.”