The NBA and the Shandong Provincial Basketball Management Center has partnered to launch The NBA Academy Shandong, an elite basketball training center in Jinan in the Shandong Province of China. The training center houses about eighty male and eighty female student-athletes aged 14-18.

The NBA’s partnership with the Shandong Provincial Basketball Management Center builds on the NBA’s existing basketball and youth development initiatives in China. In November 2015, NBA China, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports announced the launch of the first Jr. NBA Basketball League in China. In October 2014, the NBA and the Ministry of Education of China announced a comprehensive multiyear partnership to incorporate a fitness and basketball development curriculum in elementary, middle and high schools across China. In February 2014, NBA China and Yao Ming launched the first ever after-school basketball program in Beijing, providing basketball training and fitness programs for boys and girls at all skill levels. In November 2011, NBA China and Dongguan New Century launched the CBA Dongguan Basketball School for players ages 12-17.

“Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, and Shandong is proud of our basketball tradition. We have many talented players who play on the international stage already. NBA Academies will bring Shandong closer to the NBA and will help us grow the game of basketball in Shandong.”
-Yang Gang, Shandong Provincial Basketball Management Center Director