Back in October, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade parted ways with Michael Jordan after serving as a spokesman for his Nike-backed Jordan Brand for a number of years. Wade, who has plenty of fans in America, was moving on to conquer a new land: China.

Only a week later, Wade confirmed rumors by announcing that he had signed with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning. And now Li-Ning is coming right back to Wade as it's signed a deal with the Miami Heat that will find the team's branded merchandise sold at the American Airlines arena (where the billboard above can currently be spotted) and its name and logo posted on in-arena signage as well as on the team’s website and its TV broadcasts.

"The LI-NING brand represents both style and substance and is therefore a welcome addition to the Miami Heat family of partners," said Eric Woolworth, president of The Heat Group's Business Operations, in a press release. "We're eager to help introduce Li-Ning to Heat fans everywhere and we are confident their new collection of Wade merchandise will have a very broad appeal."

Li-Ning, in the middle of a three-year overhaul, is hoping the new partnership will boost its revenue and perception. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company “will record a substantial net loss for the year … as they attempt a major turnaround.”Continue reading...

On Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant became the fifth and youngest member to enter the NBA's exclusive 30,000 point club. He joins Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as the NBA celebrates in its video recounting Bryant's journey.

With December 21st the Mayan calendar's end of the world deadline (finished your holiday shopping yet?), Old Spice today revealed on Twitter and Facebook the latest installment in the digital portion of its Believe in Your Smellf campaign: a video game called Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World, which features the retired NBA star and a sub machine gun with pickle laser. One Facebook commenter called it a "truly awesome time waster" — we'll let you judge for yourself. Credit, as with previous Old Spice campaigns, to Wieden + Kennedy Portland.Continue reading...

TV's and tablets aren't the only thing people are getting excited about when it comes to holiday shopping. Sports fans get ready — for special one-color Christmas Day NBA uniforms. The Christmas tree light-like apparel is being revealed in a TV commercial breaking tonight, and can be purchased now at NBAStore.com and other retailers. Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Russell Westbrook and Joe Johnson promote the "Big Color" uniforms in the commercial, created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Reminiscent of Kit Kat's basketball spot, it's all about the sounds of the basketballs, with the stars dribbling basketballs, eventually taking the sounds of holiday music. Take a closer look at the Christmas Day uniforms below.Continue reading...

Uncle Drew (Cleveland Caveliers' breakout star Kyrie Irving) and Wes (Minnesota Timberwolves' star Kevin Love) are back and on a mission: to go out and get the old team back together. The players and spectators at a Los Angeles basketball court had no idea what was about to happen and were told that they would be filmed for some "basketball B-roll footage" for a local TV station. The resulting video, a mix of product placement and branded entertainment, was uploaded by Pepsi MAX on Oct. 30 and already has more than 1.5 million views. 

The LA crowd is in disbelief when these two old-timers give it a go in the court, and reveal how much better they really are. It's quite a spectacle, the second in the series so far, and a definite win for Pepsi MAX — although surely they can't keep fooling locals with NBA All-Stars in disguise much longer. The PepsiCo-owned brand released the first "Uncle Drew" video with Irving earlier this year, which was then turned into a 30-second commercial that ran during the NBA finals last season. More details in the ESPN interview and behind-the-scenes clips below.Continue reading...

Last seen driving a red Volvo and while declaring, "I am Jeremy Lin," the new star of the Houston Rockets can now be seen on the cover of GQ and in new TV commercials as "Basketball Ambassador for KFC China." The NBA's head did KFC one better and more or less declared Lin one of the NBA's most important China ambassadors. But as NBA regular season play begins in the US, should the brands riding Lin's coattails be nervous?Continue reading...

Lance Armstrong is stripped of titles and banned from cycling for life by international body.

Nissan joins hybrid parade.

Virgin's four-star hotels are coming to NYC.

AIG CEO defends company's "free lunch" to New York mag.

American Idol sees ad rates fall.

Ancestry.com agrees to $1.6-billion takeover deal.

Apple creates buzz with plans for smaller iPad as school sales buoy its tablet lead.

BP sells entire Russian stake to Rosneft.

Banana Republic plans to bring back Mad Men collection.Continue reading...

In China, it's been a late week whirlwind of pro basketball moves, both on and off the court. Just as news hit that NBA star Tracy McGrady had signed to play for a Chinese team — Yes, in China! — Dwayne Wade officially confirmed the rumors that he had switched sneaker affiliation from Nike to China's Li-Ning brand.

Timed to coincide with the much anticipated two games Wade's team, the Miami Heat, will play against the Los Angeles Clippers in Beijing and Shanghai this week, the Li-Ning announcement was long in the making. In fact, maybe a year in the making. Now, will Wade lead Li-Ning back to glory, and will it drag the reputations of China's brands with it?Continue reading...