The latest in basketball footwear will be modeled by the NBA's elite at next week's 2006 NBA All-Star weekend and for the first time, a Chinese footwear company will be making strides in the sports shoe showcase.

 

The world's top sports brands will be sported from February 17 to 19: signature Nikes on Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, Adidas on Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady, and Reeboks worn by Allen Iverson and Yao Ming.

 

These stars will be playing in this year's game, which will be broadcast in more than 200 countries and regions across the globe.

 

But there's another player making his mark at the basketball showdown in Houston, Texas.

 

Cleveland Cavalier Damon Jones will go as a spectator, but mostly as the first NBA ambassador of China's largest sports footwear and apparel maker, Li-Ning.

 

By recruiting Jones, Li-Ning, founded by and named after China's Olympic gymnastic gold medallist, is making its first major appearance on a pair of NBA feet this year.

 

Extending its efforts to gain international and professional credibility for its brand, Li-Ning recently signed Jones to a two-year contract to endorse the company's shoes and apparel.

 

With Jones, Li-Ning has acquired a basketball star known as much for his outsized personality as his three-point shooting. For Jones, this is a unique opportunity to parlay his love of overstatement into profit.

 

Fittingly, Jones described the endorsement arrangement with Li-Ning in grand terms during a telephone interview with China Daily.

 

"Being the first player to market these shoes and being different from everybody else who wears Nikes and Reeboks, I'm kind of a trendsetter," he said.

 

"I'm kind of a pioneer of sorts, trying to bridge that gap between the US and China."

 

In a written statement, Li-Ning's CEO Zhang Zhiyong called the contract a "jump-off point" for his company to enter one of the world's top commercial events.

 

In recent years, Li-Ning has been increasing its sponsorship of athletes and teams to develop its brand image in a fierce China market, where it is one of the top three in market share along with international brands Nike and Adidas.

 

Li-Ning not only sponsors China's national ping-pong, gymnastics, shooting, diving and weightlifting teams as well as a host of Chinese soccer players, but also Spain's men's basketball team.

 

At the beginning of 2005, the Chinese company signed a marketing partnership agreement with the NBA that opened the door for Li-Ning's footwear to be worn and promoted by NBA players at games, in advertisements and other appearances in China. Nearly a year later, the company signed Jones.

 

Jones is not the typical basketball endorser. He is neither a tantalizing prospect nor is he considered one of the premier players in the league. Jones, who was not selected when he came out for the NBA draft in 1997, has played with several teams before his breakout season with the Miami Heat last year, which landed him his current four-year US$16.1 million contract with Cleveland.

 

Mainly a complementary player specializing in three-point shooting, he so far has not played very well this year, with both his points per game and three-point shooting percentage down (though so are his minutes per game).

 

This has not tempered his personality, however. Described as "part marksman, part showman, part point guard" on the NBA website, he has proclaimed himself "one of the best shooters in the world" and "one of the best-looking," saying that if he were not a basketball player he would have been a model or actor.

 

It's this penchant for self-promotion that Li-Ning wants, according to Jones.

 

"I think something they were looking for going into this deal was getting exposure. What more exposure can you get for a brand than a guy who is very outspoken and likes to have fun and is always in front of the camera?"

 

Li-Ning did not respond to e-mailed questions on its decision to sign Jones as its first NBA endorser.

 

Even though Jones may not be an All-Star, Martin Alintuck, managing director of public relations firm Edelman China, said he believes the endorsement deal could still be a significant boost for Li-Ning's branding efforts, especially among Chinese consumers.

 

"Although the initial impact of sponsoring a role player such as Jones might be limited in the US and other international markets, being the first Chinese brand to have an active NBA player wearing its apparel on and off the court will help elevate Li-Ning in the eyes of Chinese consumers as a leading Chinese brand," said Alintuck.

 

The main challenge for Li-Ning and other less-established apparel brands is competing with leading brands such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok, said Alintuck, because of their well-established reputation for quality, innovation and fashion appeal.

 

"The Jones deal can help spotlight the brand's quality and fashion appeal among Chinese consumers," he said.

 

Alintuck added that if the Jones deal is successful, Li-Ning could become an attractive option for established NBA stars, "placing (the company) in a strong position for future branding efforts."

 

In China, the NBA has 22 TV partners and one radio partner.

 

As for why Jones who openly acknowledges that he knew little about the Li-Ning brand before being contacted by the Chinese company would choose to endorse a brand virtually unknown in the US over Payless, he cites the chance to stand out from his colleagues.

 

"I thought it was a great opportunity because not every day you're able to endorse a brand that is away from your country," Jones said.

 

"I wanted to be unlike all the rest of the players in the NBA. I wanted to sign with a shoe company that was starting from the ground up, and hopefully, we coming along can take it from a ground level to a really great company in years to come."

 

"I'm global now," he said. "It's going to open up a lot of opportunities for me in the Chinese market and in the US market. Hopefully, Chinese people really enjoy the way I play the game of basketball, and I get other endorsement deals outside of basketball because of it."

 

Opinions among Chinese basketball fans about the deal are divided. Jones' signing has generated attention for Li-Ning footwear among some, but also criticism by others.

 

Twenty-six-year-old Li Jingcheng of Beijing, for one, doesn't know who Jones is and isn't interested in what his shoes are like.

 

Jones looks to change this kind of perception when he comes for a 10-day multi-city promotional tour in China this summer.

 

"It's going to be an opportunity for me to come over and meet the Chinese people and show my face," Jones said. "I think I'll probably be doing some clinics, and some autograph signings, so the Chinese people who watch me on TV and buy the Li-Ning shoes, get a chance to meet with me or be around me."

 

(China Daily February 11, 2006)