<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">BEIJING (AFP) - Newly acquired Houston Rocket forward Shane Battier, a teammate of All-Star center Yao Ming, has signed a deal to wear a Chinese basketball shoe during the upcoming NBA season, reports said. Battier arrived in Beijing on Thursday and immediately headed to an event at which he was introduced as the first NBA player to wear Peak shoes, state television reported. The shoe is made by the Peak Group, a sports apparel manufacturer based in southeast China's Fujian province. ADVERTISEMENT "I'm happy to be representing a Chinese company and wearing a Chinese basketball shoe in the NBA," said the 28-year-old Battier, who was traded to Houston by the Memphis Grizzlies in July. No details of the deal were made public. China's interest in basketball has exploded since the 2.26-meter (seven-foot-six-inch) Yao joined the Rockets five years ago. Battier's sponsorship comes after Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal agreed to a sponsorship deal with Chinese sportswear maker Li Ning in August. In the reported 1.25-million-dollar deal, Li Ning will produce a low-cost "Shaq" brand basketball shoe for the Chinese market. In January, Li Ning signed a contract with Cleveland Cavalier guard Damon Jones, in the first sponsorship deal between a Chinese company and an NBA player, state press said.</div> http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=afp-...v=afp&type=lgns
He's played Vince Carter in China and I think he played Steve Francis and Tracy Mcgardy too. T-Mac is a big star in China.
