The NBA and the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Vocational Technical Institute has partnered to launch The NBA Academy Zhejiang, an elite basketball training center in Hangzhou in the Zhejiang Province of China. The training center houses eighty male and eighty female student-athletes aged 14-18.

The NBA’s partnership with the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Vocational Technical Institute 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 very popular in Zhejiang. The first Chinese professional basketball team in the 1990s was based in Zhejiang, and our team was the first Chinese regional team that imported foreign players. This partnership builds on our strong foundation of player development. We will work closely with the NBA to grow youth basketball, and we are excited to enter into a new chapter in the world of basketball.”
-Zhang Yadong, Zhejiang Provincial Sports Vocational Technical Institute Principal