The Future of Basketball Shoes Might Not Go Through Beaverton

After twelve years of watching the wrong brand fumble one of the greatest players alive, the right move finally happened.

I've been watching Li-Ning try to crack the American basketball market since January 2011, when I got my first chance to shoot photos courtside at an NBA game. The occasion was the Staples Center launch of the Li-Ning Defend, the first US retail launch of Baron Davis's signature line with the brand. BD was playing for the Clippers at the time, the brand…