Retired National Basketball Association star Shawn Marion hosted a basketball clinic and distributed gifts for 200 kids at the NBA Hope School in Chengdu, China on Tuesday as part of the league's celebration of the Chinese New Year.
The 37-year-old Marion, who officially retired in June of last year following the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, kidded that the students seemed so enthralled by his presence that all they wanted to do was to shoot the basketball even while he tried to help them develop their passing and dribbling skills.
"Everybody just wanted to shoot," the 2011 NBA champion and four-time All-Star said, as reported by For The Win.
The NBA, thru NBA China CEO David Shoemaker, released an official statement regarding Marion's visit in China, saying that "to celebrate the launch of the Chinese New Year, NBA champion and four-time NBA All-Star Shawn Marion traveled to Chengdu today to help spread the joy of the holiday by hosting a basketball clinic and distributing gifts to underprivileged students at the NBA Hope School."
Shoemaker went on to say that "we are grateful to our Chinese fans for welcoming all 30 NBA teams into their homes as they celebrate the Chinese New Year with family and loved ones. This holiday is about joyful family reunions, and we are thankful that our teams and players are part of the excitement and festivities."
Slam Online noted that also included in the celebration is the broadcast of live NBA games in mainland China, to be distributed by China Central Television (18 games) and Tencent (31 games).
Moreover, Chinese fans can watch the live games in Guangdong TV, Beijing TV, BesTV, Videoland, Fox Sports, Elta, Taiwan Mobile, and NowTV as well.