Basketball is never out of place in modern China. As a matter of fact, the sport in the land of Confucius is almost as old as the sport itself.
在近现代中国，篮球运动从未与这个东方大国格格不入。实际上，篮球在这片孔子故土上的历史，与这项运动本身的历史几乎同样悠久。
After years of development, the Chinese version of the NBA was born. One of the players coming from this league was a Chinese giant by the name of Yao Ming.
经过多年的发展，中国版的NBA——CBA在中国诞生。这个中国球星的摇篮曾培育出日后成为NBA第一中锋的姚明这位国际巨星。
With an estimated fan base of 450 million, China's basketball market has shown huge potential to become the biggest in the world.
凭借约4.5亿的受众人群，中国的篮球市场已显露出成为世界第一大市场的巨大潜力。
Basketball Today
今日的篮球运动
Basketball is currently one of the most popular sports in China, and has the biggest number of people involved with the game.
篮球是当下中国最受欢迎的体育运动之一，且拥有最广泛的参与人群。
An estimated 300 million Chinese people play basketball — roughly equivalent to the entire population of the United States, according to the Chinese Basketball Association.
据中国篮球协会的统计，在中国，有约3亿人参与篮球运动，这几乎等于全美整个国家的人口。
It is the most popular sport among Chinese youth.
在青少年中，篮球是最受欢迎的运动。
Since 1987, when the National Basketball Association (NBA) first gave broadcasting rights to China Central Television (CCTV) free of charge, it has cultivated an estimated fan base of 450 million. Megastars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett are household names in the country.
自1987年，美国全国篮球协会将NBA的转播权免费授予中央电视台以来，NBA在中国已培养出约4.5亿受众。科比?布莱恩特、勒布朗?詹姆斯和凯文?加内特等NBA球星在中国可以说是家喻户晓。
With exposure to the NBA, more and more kids play with NBA-style cockiness and wear Adidas, Nike and Reebok shoes and clothes.
随着NBA的品牌不断深入人心，越来越多的青少年模仿NBA球星那样打篮球，同时还身着阿迪达斯、耐克和锐步的运动装备。
Beijing over the last 10 years has slowly opened basketball to outside influences, in much the same way it has opened other strategic industries to foreign investment. The government has gradually allowed corporations like Nike and the NBA to play an increasingly greater role in developing the market and the basketball talent.
在过去的十几年里，就如同其他一些产业对外资敞开大门一样，中国也逐步放开了篮球产业对外资的准入门槛。如耐克和NBA等外商投资企业逐渐在中国市场中占有越来越大的份额，并参与到中国篮球人才的培养当中。
In January 2008, the NBA established the entity NBA China, an affiliate with local operations and management. Since then, NBA China has built its business aggressively through a broad media play, along with sponsorships, promotions, events and an arena-management venture.
2008年1月，NBA在中国设立了NBA中国公司，负责中国本土的运营。自此，NBA中国公司通过与媒体建立广泛的合作，赞助、推广、举办赛事和篮球场馆运营等活动迅速地在中国建立起自己的商业帝国。
China's basketball market has shown huge potential to become the biggest in the world.
中国篮球市场已显露出成为世界No.1的巨大潜力。
A Historical Perspective
历史的审视
Long before the NBA arrived, missionaries and revolutionaries helped make the game ubiquitous here in China.
早在NBA进入中国以前，西方的传教士们就已使篮球这项运动在中国广受欢迎。
Introduced to China over a century ago by YMCA missionaries just a few years after the game's 1891 invention in Springfield, Massachusetts, basketball has seeped into the fabric of Chinese lives.
100多年前，就在1891年篮球这项运动在美国的斯普林菲尔德被发明出以后的短短数年里，基督教青年会的传教士们就将其引入了中国。这项运动自此渗透到了中国人民的日常生活当中。
Some of the first groups that embraced basketball in China were college students and Western-minded scholars.
第一批接纳篮球运动的中国人多为在校大学生和较为西化的学者。
In the 1920s, the game was very popular among urban students.
20世纪20年代，篮球在中国都市里的学生们中甚为流行。
In 1935, basketball was declared a Chinese national pastime.
1935年，篮球被宣布为全国性的娱乐活动。
At that time, members of the Red Army was encouraged to play basketball for lifting spirits and exercise.
那段时期，中国红军的战士们被鼓励用打篮球的方式来振奋精神，强健体魄。
Until the NBA arrived in early 1990s, basketball had come to feel so intrinsically Chinese, most people did not even associate it with America.
直到90年代初NBA来到中国以前，篮球在中国扎根如此之深，以至于多数中国人都没有将这项运动与美国关联在一起。
（作者厉振羽，系国际主流媒体双语体育专栏作家、中国日报网特约专栏作家）
