Great article on how the NBA grew to prominence from one of my new favorite magazines, The American. Beyond lots of info on the marketing decisions the NBA made and is making in it’s global expansion, these two basketball facts stood out:

“Even abroad, how­ever, American players typically attract the most fans. Yao’s teammate, Tracy McGrady, sells more jerseys in China than Yao or anyone else.”

&

“When James Naismith invented the game—hanging a peach basket on a YMCA wall in 1891—basketball experienced its first great stroke of fortune. The Y’s missionaries spread the sport globally and nationally. They brought basketball to France, India, and China, and the game came to dominate the gyms in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and other cities.”