On August 18^th, Aaron Gordon's championship tour in China began, and its first stop was at the Wanda Plaza in Dongcheng, Dongguan. As a powerful forward in the NBA, Aaron Gordon is well-known in the league for his explosive dunks in his early years. After joining the Denver Nuggets, Aaron Gordon became a crucial team member, playing a vital role in the team's journey to the championship.

At the event, Aaron Gordon watched the lion dance performance, interacted with fans, and shared his experience and insights on dunking. After visiting Dongguan, Aaron Gordon will visit Changsha, Chengdu, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, and Beijing in the upcoming journey.

Why did Aaron Gordon choose Dongguan, a second-tier city in Guangdong, as the first stop of his China tour this year? It all starts with the strong basketball atmosphere in Dongguan.

"When it comes to basketball in China, one must think of Dongguan, Guangdong." Dongguan, the home of the CBA team of 11 championships, Guangdong South China Tiger Club, has cultivated a large number of Chinese basketball stars such as Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, Du Feng, Wang Shipeng, Hu Mingxuan, and Xu Jie. Group and group of basketball talents gather here, playing basketball and settling down in Dongguan, fighting for this city.

Professional basketball clubs in Dongguan are thriving, and the booming basketball market has driven the popularity of basketball. In Dongguan, on 2,460 square kilometers of land, there are more than 6,600 basketball courts. Dongguan people know and love basketball. No matter at the Guangdong team's home court, Dongguan Basketball Center, or the courts in villages in Changping, Humen, and Machong, Dongguan people enjoy the joy brought by basketball, no matter whether the court is professional or amateur. Basketball culture has long been an integral part of Dongguan's urban culture.

Li Yuanwei, former executive vice chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, once said in an interview: "If you want to truly understand China and Chinese basketball, you must go to Dongguan to have a look." Dongguan has the best professional basketball clubs and grassroots leagues in the country, where they promote each other and improve together. Almost every citizen of Dongguan can find a sense of identity in this city through basketball. That is the significance of basketball to Dongguan.

阿隆·戈登总冠军中国行首站，为何选择了东莞？

8月18日，阿隆·戈登总冠军中国行在东莞东城万达广场中庭开启今年中国行的第一站。作为NBA中实力超群的重型前锋，阿隆·戈登早年以劲爆的扣篮驰名联盟。来到丹佛掘金队后，阿隆·戈登成为球队最为重要的拼图，在球队的夺冠历程中扮演了极为重要的角色。

在活动现场，阿隆·戈登观看醒狮表演、与球迷互动、分享扣篮经验心得。在东莞站结束后，阿隆·戈登将在接下来的旅程中先后造访长沙、成都、西安、郑州、石家庄、北京。

阿隆·戈登为何会将今年中国行的首站选在了广东的二线城市——东莞呢？这便要从东莞浓厚的篮球氛围说起——

“中国篮球看广东，广东篮球看东莞。”东莞，这座南方城市走出了CBA“十一冠王”广东宏远队的王者之师，培养了易建联、朱芳雨、杜锋、王仕鹏、胡明轩、徐杰等一大批篮球明星。一批又一批的篮球高手相聚于此，在东莞打球、安家，为这座城市而战。

东莞的职业篮球欣欣向荣，而红火的球市又反过来带动了群众篮球的发展。在东莞2460平方公里的土地上，坐落着超过6600座篮球场。这里的人爱篮球、懂篮球，从广东队的主场东莞篮球中心，到常平、虎门、麻涌的村镇球场，无论是职业赛场还是民间舞台，东莞的群众都尽情享受着篮球带来的快乐。篮球文化早已成为了东莞城市文化中密不可分的一部分。

中国篮协原常务副主席李元伟曾在接受采访时表示：“你们想真正了解中国，了解中国篮球，一定要到东莞去看看。”东莞拥有全国最出色的职业篮球俱乐部和民间联赛，在这里，职业篮球和民间篮球相互促进，共同提高。几乎每一名东莞市民都能从篮球中找到对这座城市的认同感，这就是篮球之于东莞的意义。

图、视频拍摄｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 钟振彬
视频剪辑｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 余梓涛 潘俊华
文｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 吕航
翻译｜白心怡
责编 | 王楠
校对 | 周勇