A press conference is held virtually on April 9, 2023. /gz.chinanews.com
Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has donated a basketball court to Machang Town of Gui'an New Area in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
At a press conference held virtually on April 9, Simmons explained his relationship with China. "I first visited China to play basketball when I was 16 and then again as an NBA player. I always enjoy visiting as the people and the fans are always so welcoming, and love basketball," he said.
"My wish is to bring the joy of basketball to more people, so I wanted to donate a court to help places where people love the game and can benefit from new facilities," he said.
Ben Simmons speaks at the press conference via a video call on April 9, 2023. /gz.chinanews.com
A local basketball tournament in Guizhou, widely known as "CunBA," with "cun" meaning "village" in Chinese, has attracted widespread attention across China. Its recently held finals witnessed more than 30,000 people watching on site and hundreds of millions of netizens online.
"I hope this court will benefit the local people. I hear people in Guizhou have amazing local basketball tournaments, and they just had this year's final. I wish the people of Guizhou all the best, and hopefully will get to see them soon in the future," said Simmons.
"This donation will bring a better court for our basketball-loving people, and better promote the development of mass sports," said Li Pengcheng, deputy director of Machang Town.
Read more: Guizhou's rural basketball games see great enthusiasm
(Cover: An aerial view of the "CunBA" final series in Taipan Village, southwest China's Guizhou Province, March 25, 2023. /CFP)