Anta Sports Products Limited has signed a basketball endorsement contract with Chandler Parsons, a rising star in the NBA and starting small forward of the Houston Rockets.
For his in-game footwear, he will be equipped with tailor-made Anta “Lingdong” (靈動, which means “flexible movement”) basketball shoes, numerous styles of which have been available for sale since the first quarter of this year. With his rapid rise to fame after just two years in the NBA, Chandler Parsons has become an indispensable mainstay of the Houston Rockets. He will not only further strengthen the Company’s “Basketball is Priceless” strategy, but also joins the star-studded “Basketball is Priceless” team with fellow endorsed NBA superstars Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Luis Scola, further enhancing Anta’s brand equity and cementing Anta’s leading position in China’s basketball market.
Chandler Parsons, aged 25, was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA Draft. As a college player, Parsons was an outstanding player on the Florida Gators men's basketball team at the University of Florida. In 2011, he was named the NCAA's (National Collegiate Athletic Association) SEC Player of the Year (Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball) and was a member of All-SEC First Team, the first Florida Gator to win these honours. Chandler Parsons also performed strongly in his first season in the NBA, became the Houston Rockets’ starting small forward shortly after he joined the team, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In his second NBA season, Chandler Parsons continued to be a starter on the Houston Rockets’ squad, performing even better in scoring, rebounds and assists than in his rookie year, and was selected to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars Challenge, placing him among the new generation of the NBA’s rising stars.
Chandler Parsons has been a member of the Houston Rockets since joining NBA. NBA fans in China have a special connection with the Houston Rockets, the only NBA team for which legendary NBA and Chinese superstar Yao Ming had ever played. The “Linsanity” craze set off by ethnic Chinese NBA player Jeremy Lin has brought the Houston Rockets into the spotlight once again, and Chinese fans of the Houston Rockets now have a new player to cheer for. Although he is an American, Chandler Parsons is affectionately described as “tall, rich and handsome” by NBA fans in China, and is very popular in the country. His endorsement of Anta, the leading Chinese sportswear brand, drives the fervor of Chinese fans of the Houston Rockets once again.
Chandler Parsons, a young player in his prime, has boundless potential and is a high profile member of the new generation of up-and-coming NBA stars. He demonstrates a spirit of sparing no effort, defending against opponents with unmatched urgency, and displaying courage by fighting for wins on the basketball court, all of which is fully in line with Anta’s brand spirit of ‘Keep Moving’, and is also a perfect representation of Anta’s ‘Basketball is Priceless’ strategy. Mr. James Zheng, Executive Director of Anta Sports and Brand President of Anta, added, “Our ‘Basketball is Priceless’ strategy launched in the fourth quarter of last year will demonstrate that power cannot be measured by price, and that professional basketball shoes do not need to be very expensive to provide excellent performance. Therefore, Chandler Parsons will not only endorse the concept of Anta’s ‘Basketball is Priceless’ strategy, but will also help promote Anta “Lingdong” series basketball shoes selling at RMB369 and RMB399. For the next several years, we will partner with the four NBA superstars who endorse Anta to promote the popularity of practical basketball and to demonstrate the value of professional, high-quality, yet affordable good value-for-money basketball shoes to consumers, allowing more people to enjoy playing basketball.”
