(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-10-17 11:23

"I think those three are more popular than Yao Ming. It's a contradiction. Maybe I should say we like their style of play better."

Like the NBA, Nike's business is soaring in China. The country could generate $1 billion next year, up from about $100 million just five years ago. The NBA's does about $50 million annually and should follow Nike's growth pattern.

Nike has fashioned the preseason games in China around James, who reportedly has a seven-year deal with the shoemaker worth $90 million. Shoe rival Adidas is also promoting the games, stringing up its ads on Huaihai Road, a swanky street that includes many of the city's high-end boutiques.

Adidas' main star is the Magic's Dwight Howard, whose thundering dunks carry the company's pitch.

Nike doesn't liken James to Michael Jordan, but others have. That included at least one Chinese reporter.

"It's great to be compared to one of the greats, but my game and his game are totally different," James said.

The "LBJ Museum" -- it's unclear how many people recognize the initials as those of a former US president -- is aimed at drawing young fans. It is located near the historic French Concession area in central Shanghai. The museum offers 3-on-3 games in the run-up to this week's exhibitions and introduces James with childhood photos, jerseys from high school and shoes he's worn with Nike.

There's also a history of his NBA career starting with a photo alongside NBA commissioner David Stern from June 22, 2003, when James was chosen No 1 in the draft.

"The idea is to help Chinese youth understand who he is, his career, his history and his personality," Nike spokesman Alan Marks said.

The museum also displays a copy of James' birth certificate: December 30, 1984, born in Akron, Ohio, to Gloria James.

"For the first years of his life LeBron is raised by his mother and grandmother, Freda, on Hickory Street in Akron," reads a caption. "A milk crate hung on a telephone pole serves as the neighborhood basketball hoop attached by a few nails at whatever height the tallest available boy can reach."

Teammate Drew Gooden said James' popularity hinges not on charm or athletic skill but on being genuine and delivering.

"He came into the league as a superstar, but for him to fill those shoes makes it all that much better," Gooden said. "When you live up to the hype people respect that, especially fans."

That includes Chinese fans.

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