Nike China Tells the Country's Latest NBA-Bound Star: 'Don't Come Back'

Proud work from W+K Shanghai

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Zhou Qi is the latest 7-footer from China to reach the NBA. And while the 20-year-old may be no Yao Ming—at least not yet—Nike China is celebrating his move to the Houston Rockets with a proud 60-second spot that tells Zhou not to return to China.

But in a friendly way.

The spot was made by Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai, which points out that most Chinese players have had very short careers in the NBA before returning to China—Yao, a now-retired Hall of Famer, being the glaring exception.

“While some have said he could be the next Yao Ming, most will acknowledge that Zhou Qi still has a long way to go,” a W+K rep says.

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