2011 College Basketball POY, Jimmer Fredette was the leading scorer in the Chinese Basketball Association last season, averaging 37.6 PPG, while winning the league’s MVP award. He was rewarded with a two-year $3.6 million contract (he’ll return to the Shanghai Sharks) and a new shoe contract. Chinese footwear brand 361 Degrees has just unveiled a signature shoe line for the former BYU star. No information pertaining to the price of the shoe or the terms of the agreement were released.
Howie Long-Short: 361 Degrees International Limited has over 5,500 shoe & sporting goods retail stores in China. The company trades over the counter under the symbol OTC: TSIOF. The company reported that H1 ’17 revenues rose 9.5% to $2.8 billion Yuan, with footwear sales making up 46.8% of the company revenues. Look for that number to continue to grow. Chinese fans consider Jimmer a “god”; they are going to buy these shoes.
Fan Marino: No American has had more success in the Chinese Basketball Association than Stephon Marbury. The 2x NBA All-Star won 3 CBA Championships and a CBA Finals MVP award, during 9 seasons in China. At 40 years old, Marbury has recently expressed interested in returning to the NBA.