CBA’s Beijing Ducks and NBA’s Dallas Mavericks announced on Thursday that the two teams will play against each other at the American Airlines Center on Oct. 2 as part of the Mavericks’ pre-season schedule.

The Beijing Ducks will not be the only CBA team to play against an NBA rival in October. Less than two weeks earlier, the Houston Rockets released that they will play against China’s Shanghai Sharks at the Toyota Center on Oct. 9.

With obvious difference in strength, CBA teams have not stopped seeking opportunities to play against their NBA counterparts. Back in 2007, China’s men’s national basketball team, which was led by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming, participated in the NBA Summer League to prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The experience paid off as China made it into the quarter-finals at the Olympics. A decade later, the country’s Team Red and Team Blue copied this and went to Canada and the US for training. The goal is simple: If you want to improve yourself, there is no better way than learning from the best, which in basketball is the NBA. In sports, the best learning opportunity comes on the court.

From a single move by a player to every play by the team and to all the arrangements by the head coach during the time-outs, detail is everything for Chinese players. The longer you stay on the court and compete with NBA players, the more you can see and learn from them.

In today’s NBA, most players have been nurtured by college basketball before they enter the league. They have learnt how to use their athleticism while playing as a team. By contrast, many Chinese players didn't have scientific and systematic training – at least, not to that level – before they joined the CBA. Considering that the Chinese basketball team hold no physical advantage against the world's best teams, learning how to play smart as a team is the best option.

Besides improving their performance, playing with NBA teams can also make money for both sides. For CBA teams, a game with an NBA rival can draw attention from fans and promote ticket sales. On the US side, playing with a Chinese team can help make them better-known in this promising market. Moreover, if two teams can establish connections through the games, deeper cooperation in the form of youth training and development may become possible, much to the benefit of the Chinese game.

(Top picture: CBA's Shanghai Sharks (blue) playing against NBA's Houston Rockets (white) /VCG Photo)