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Clippers Share Past China Memories

Rowan Kavner

SHENZHEN, China - Chris Paul’s been to China so many years in a row now he’s lost count.

The country’s a mecca for crazed basketball addicts, as Paul knows well from his many trips to the country. For most of the younger Clippers players, this will be the first time they can see that.

For experienced China visitors such as Paul, the memories are plentiful from past China stays. From the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to visits for Jordan brand, he’s had plenty of reasons to make the trip.

“A lot of things stick out,” Paul said. “I’ve been over there with my wife, I’ve been over there with my brother, I’ve been over there with Jordan, went over for the Olympics – 2008 feels like it was a long time ago. Some great memories there. The fans are always amazing.”

Paul has the unique experience of having played and won gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in China, calling it an experience he’ll never forget.

The one part of going to China every player who’s made the visit can remember vividly is the excitement of the fans. Paul said the popularity of the sport and the players in China is hard to get used to, even after years visiting the country.

“The fans in China are amazing,” Paul said. “The amount of support you get year in and year out, it’s just always a good time.”

Along with Paul, Blake Griffin’s made multiple trips to China, primarily for Jordan brand purposes. By his count, this will be his fifth trip. When he thinks back to his best memories, seeing the Great Wall of China is right at the top.

But there are plenty to choose from.

“I’ve been to some really cool places and gotten to do some really cool things in China,” Griffin said. “I went to Guangzhou and we went to this building that was like 140-160 stories high. It was insane. It was the tallest building in China, we stayed at the tallest W in the world, stuff like that is cool to me.”

Griffin said it’s always cool to see the passion of the fans and how much they love the NBA.

“To me, that’s my favorite part about going over there,” Griffin said. “There’s more people there that play basketball than there are in the United States. That’s mind-blowing. That’s crazy. There are so many people who love basketball over there.”

As veterans of the Clippers, Griffin, Paul and DeAndre Jordan had the opportunity to go with the team to China a few years ago as part of the Global Games in 2012.

Jordan said the fact the fans hardly get to see the players makes it a cool experience for both parties, and he recalls positive memories from his first trip to China. Head coach Doc Rivers, who’s also been to China before, expects with Michael Jordan making the trip for Charlotte and with other big-name NBA personalities, the fans will be out in full force.

“The fan reaction will be amazing,” Rivers said. “Yao Ming will be walking around with us a couple nights, so that’ll be huge – literally. They’re great fans. The arenas are sold out, so that’ll be a lot of fun.”

It’s a business trip, which the Clippers continue to reiterate.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t be an eye-opening experience and a memorable experience for the Clippers who’ve never been or have only been once or twice.

“I went when I was 19,” said Josh Smith. “I was young, I went to Shanghai. I was with Adidas and we had a camp over there, kind of like Adidas Nation. It was nice, but I was so young I didn’t really get to appreciate it, because I was just in the gym and back to the hotel. I think we’ll do a little sightseeing this time around, really get the China feel and really experience the culture.”