Thought by many to be one of the NBA’s best current players (and most definitely the top point guard), Chris Paul made a recent trip back to China, home of the 2008 olympics and Paul’s first ever Olympics gold.

While there are only a few NBA players who hail from China (they can probably be counted on one hand), Chris Paul has different feelings about the state of Chinese basketball.

Paul had a very emotional experience in Beijing last summer at the 2008 Olympic games. He claims that it changed his outlook on life, and his connection to the nation remains strong, as evidenced by his recent trip back to China.

The most populous country in the world is stocked with tens of millions of avid basketball fans who adore NBA stars as much as we do. Paul will be holding basketball clinics in Guangzhou for a couple of days in early August, and open a brand new outdoor basketball court in the area.

He will also be releasing his new line of Chinese shoes, which feature Chinese characters that represent his 106 consecutive games with a steal, and the night where he scored 61 points in a high school game to honor his recently murdered grandfather.

Yao Ming aside, no other NBA player has ever done what Paul is now doing in China. This gives the point guard a sort of iconic status there.

This is the right move, as there will soon enough be more basketball fans in China than in the US. This may already be the case by some estimates. This will also help to attract more developing Chinese talent to the NBA, as the league can surely stand to benefit from the slew of promising prospects in the world’s largest country.

Other players should soon follow suit and follow Paul’s lead. The size of China’s market is undeniable, and there’s never been a better time to act than now.

Jeremy Lambaszki is an NBA writer with an emphasis on the Western Conference. He spends much of his time at RootZoo’s NBA basketball forum and often contributes sports trivia questions to the site as well.

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