Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) dribbles down the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Feb 13, 2023, in New York. (PHOTO / AP)

GUIYANG - Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has donated a basketball court to Machang town of Gui'an New Area in southwest China's Guizhou province.

At a press conference held virtually on Sunday evening, Simmons explained his relationship with China. "I first visited China to play basketball when I was 16 and then again as an NBA player. I always enjoy visiting as the people and the fans are always so welcoming, and love basketball," he said.

Simmons announced on January 26 that he would donate money to build a basketball court in China.

I hope this court will benefit the local people. I hear people in Guizhou have amazing local basketball tournaments, and they just had this year's final. I wish the people of Guizhou all the best, and hopefully will get to see them soon in the future.

Ben Simmons, Brooklyn Nets guard

"My wish is to bring the joy of basketball to more people, so I wanted to donate a court to help places where people love the game and can benefit from new facilities," he added.

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A local basketball tournament in Guizhou, widely known as "CunBA", with 'Cun' meaning village in Chinese, has attracted widespread attention across China. Its recently held finals witnessed more than 30,000 people watching on site and hundreds of millions of netizens online.

"I hope this court will benefit the local people. I hear people in Guizhou have amazing local basketball tournaments, and they just had this year's final. I wish the people of Guizhou all the best, and hopefully will get to see them soon in the future," said Simmons.

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"This donation will bring a better court for our basketball-loving people, and better promote the development of mass sports," said Li Pengcheng, deputy director of Machang Town.