Houston, TX – Houston Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander announced today that the team will wear specially designed Lunar New Year uniforms to celebrate the Chinese New Year with its largest international fan base. The team will wear the uniforms on three occasions.
“The Lunar New Year uniforms represent a great opportunity to honor our incredibly loyal and passionate fans throughout China,” said Houston Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander. “From the time the Rockets participated in the first live NBA television broadcast in China on June 8, 1994, to my selecting Shanghai’s native son Yao Ming with the first overall selection of the 2002 NBA Draft, to our participation in the first NBA China Games in 2004, the Rockets have always enjoyed a very special bond with our fans across the region. We are thrilled and humbled to establish the Lunar New Year uniforms as a way to honor the culture, heritage and historical and future connection we’ll always enjoy with our Chinese fans.”
“It brings great joy to me to see the Houston Rockets honor one of my country’s most important traditions,” commented Rockets legend Yao Ming, “Mr. Alexander and the Rockets have long embraced our culture and customs and made basketball fans in China a part of the Rockets community. I’m excited to ring in the Year of the Goat watching the Rockets wear the Lunar New Year uniforms.”
The Rockets Lunar New Year (LNY) jerseys will debut on Sat., Feb 21, vs. Toronto for the Rockets annual Lunar New Year Game, presented by Kenda Tires. Additionally, the LNY jerseys will be worn on Mon., Feb. 23 vs. Minnesota and Wed., Feb. 25 vs. the Los Angeles Clippers, coinciding with the Rockets week-long Lunar New Year Celebration.
The Rockets Lunar New Year jerseys will be available for purchase at the Rockets Team Shop beginning on Tue., Jan. 27. In addition to being open during all Rockets home games, the Rockets Team Shop is open from 11:00AM to 5:00PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and from 10:00AM to 3:00PM on Saturdays
The National Basketball Association (NBA) will pay tribute to its largest international fan base Feb. 19 to Mar. 4 with its biggest ever Chinese New Year Celebration, ushering in the Year of the Goat with millions of fans in China, the U.S. and around the world.
The celebration will feature a record 56 live games broadcast and streamed in Greater China, showcasing 27 of the 30 NBA teams; the debut of “Surprise Door,” the first NBA Chinese New Year television spot, which embraces the diversity of the league’s fans; the unveiling of the first Chinese New Year uniforms; and the tip-off of the Chinese New Year Celebration Season of Giving initiative to support underprivileged communities in China.