Fresh off winning a second NBA title, Klay Thompson showed us his best self on a tour of China.
by Hugo Kitano@HugoKitano Jul 13, 2017, 8:00am PDT
NBA China
This story also appears on Dat Winning.
In the midst of a hectic NBA off-season, with star players seemingly on the move every week, the strangest basketball news this summer had nothing to do with free agency. When a video of Klay Thompson botching a half-hearted attempt at a 360° dunk in China surfaced on Twitter, we were introduced to the phenomenon known as #ChinaKlay.
Klay Thompson went to China to show them what the talents of an NBA player look like in real life pic.twitter.com/DdxZFJ5ZUv
— Ben B (@guga31bb) June 24, 2017
在这个热闹的休赛期里，NBA球星们似乎每周都在制造新闻，但这个夏天最新奇的篮球新闻却和所有的自由球员都没有关系。随着一个汤普森在中国行中尝试360扣篮而扣翻自己的视频出现在推特，我们见识到了所谓的#社会主义克莱。
克莱-汤普森去中国展示一个NBA球员的天赋在现实生活中看起来是怎样的pic.twitter.com/DdxZFJ5ZUv
— Ben B (@guga31bb) June 24, 2017
Throughout the next week, #ChinaKlay kept popping up in photos and videos circulated throughout Twitter, encompassing a wide range of scheduled activities:
Here’s #ChinaKlay airballing a swaggy three.
Here he is losing at arm-wrestling due to unexpected tickling.
Here’s #ChinaKlay getting lit in the club and popping bottles.
Here he is in a kind of choreographed dance routine or something.
在接下来的星期里，社会主义克莱继续出现在各种推特热传的照片和视频里，在一系列的活动中大放异彩：
社会主义克莱自信而又潇洒的三不沾.
这个是他扳手腕输给一个女生
社会主义克莱在夜店中摇摆和开怀畅饮.
这里是他在广场舞
还有一个最佳的，这里社会主义克莱 在尝试一个太热或者太冷的食物。
社会主义克莱一瞥#WarriorsTalk #Icon pic.twitter.com/Jb9wwks79D
— Warriors Talk (@JaeAzizi) July 6, 2017
Back here in the U.S., Thompson often seems detached, and his interactions with media are usually unremarkable. He is always good-natured, but tends to keep his feelings to himself. #ChinaKlay, on the other hand, is our favorite, lovable dork, wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Man does that guy look happy with life.
Fresh off signing a ten-year, $80-million endorsement extension with Chinese sportswear brand Anta, Thompson was in China on a promotional tour. Thompson admittedly didn’t know much about Anta when he first signed on in 2014, but relished the opportunity to explore the new Chinese market.
在美国的时候，汤普森看起来总是超然的，与媒体的互动也总是不可描述。虽然他看起来很和善，但却很少外露自己的情感。而社会主义克莱，看起来就是一个可爱而讨喜的小傻瓜，情绪都写在自己脸上。天啊他看起来真的是在享受生活。
在刚刚与安踏续约了一份10年8000万美元的延长合同之后，汤普森踏上了他的中国行。他承认在2014年第一次与安踏签约时，他并不了解这个品牌，而是因为对中国市场的兴趣完成了签约。
“Knowing that I could be really big in China, that was really cool to me,” said Thompson in an interview with Nice Kicks. “The shoe market sometimes is over-flooded in the States, and I thought, ‘Well, why not branch out and be global.’”
Thompson particularly sought to have major creative input into the design of his signature shoes and individual player tours as part of his deal. Because larger American brands promote far more players, Anta would be able to devote more attention to Thompson’s wishes and concerns.
汤普森在一次采访中说：“得知我可以在中国成为一个人物而广受欢迎对我来说非常的酷，美国的球鞋市场有时有些溢出了，所以我想，为什么不尝试一下别的品牌然后放眼全球呢。”
汤普森在寻求球鞋合作的时候，特别关注与能否在签名鞋中注入自己的一些创造性想法并且能够进行个人的宣传行。由于美国的大品牌的球鞋推广关注于更多更大牌的球员，而安踏正好能够全身心的投入到汤普森的想法与关注点上。
If anyone was puzzled by Thompson’s decision to sign with Anta, it was a decision that has literally paid off with his NBA success, which includes two NBA championships and three All-Star team nods in the past three years. Thompson is now Anta’s biggest marketable commodity, with only Rajon Rondo filling out their roster of NBA player endorsements. Under Anta’s new deal, Thompson now owns one of the top ten richest basketball shoe deals in 2017.
Being big in China, however, still doesn’t mean much stateside. Chinese sportswear brands have not been able to crossover into the U.S. market, with quality and originality still appearing to be the missing element. If this is a reputation that bigger Chinese sportswear brands are working to steer away from, newer brands like Uncle Martian haven’t helped change that perception.
如果有人仍然想不通汤普森签约安踏的决定的话，那么看看他在NBA的成功吧，过去三年两个总冠军以及三次全明星。汤普森如今是安踏旗下最大牌的球员，除此以外只有拉简-隆多填补宣传的空白。在和安踏签了新合同之后，如今汤普森拥有2017赛季前10的球鞋合同。
在中国广受欢迎并不代表在美国也是如此。中国的体育品牌由于质量问题以及原创性的缺失，还未能够漂亮的打入美国市场。如果中国的体育品牌想要避开这样的口碑，那么Uncle Martian这样的公司还是越少越好。
(译者注：大家打开Uncle Martian的链接看一下，真是长见识)
And yet, #ChinaKlay has somehow transcended these and other cultural differences to perhaps start the wheels turning on a potential U.S. market. On a social media platform banned in China, we have gotten to see not only the best Klay, but a completely different world of fandom, a place where Klay can truly be happy. These are moments that can connect sports fans across different continents. #ChinaKlay is universal.
但是，社会主义克莱却在一定程度上超越了这些文化差异，并推动了安踏在美国市场的发展。在推特这个中国封禁的媒体网站上，我们不仅看到了最好的克莱，也看到了一群完全不同的球迷，看到了这个能让克莱真正开心的地方。正是这些时刻能将世界各地的体育迷们连接在一起。社会主义克莱是独一无二的。
After Thompson missed the dunk attempt in the beginning of his trip, he immediately hoped it wouldn’t go viral, but we must be glad for it. For once not so long ago, there was Ping-Pong Diplomacy, then Muhammad Ali visited China, then Yao Ming went to the NBA, and now Klay Thompson. With a strained relationship to China under the current administration, few things can be said to be better for sports-based U.S.-China diplomacy than #ChinaKlay, and the world is better for having him.
Cover photo from NBA China.
在汤普森中国行开始时，克莱错失了那记扣篮，他虽然希望这件糗事不要被媒体疯转，但我们必须为此感到庆幸。在很久以前，有过乒乓外交，然后阿里到访中国，接着姚明登陆NBA，现在有了克莱-汤普森。在如今政府与中国保持着一个紧张的关系之下，中美的体育外交中没有什么能比社会主义克莱更棒了，这个世界有他真好。
封面照片来自NBA China.