NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade lends name to Li Ning brand

Li Ning and Wade announced a multi-year partnership that will see the two-time NBA champion serve in an official capacity as chief brand officer. He will be responsible for guiding the creative direction of all products under the Wade brand. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wade will join forces with Li-Ning leadership to spearhead the global marketing strategies and initiatives aimed to build brand awareness both in the United States and China for Wade—the centerpiece of the corporation's international basketball strategy.

Elements will include a signature line of adult apparel and footwear available soon at Li-Ning retail stores and online throughout China, and set to debut in the United States in 2013. There are also plans to launch a Wade kids footwear and apparel line in the future.

As chief brand officer, Wade will provide input and also approve all future endorsers for his namesake brand, and be instrumental in selecting the athletes he feels best embody the presence, perspective and personality of the Wade brand.

The partnership will seek to connect Wade's methods of basketball style, training, and personal growth with Li Ning's values of dream, inspiration and enterprise, drawing parallels between the business and athletic philosophies upheld by Wade and Li, founder of the brand.

Li Ning himself was a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in Gymnastics in 1984, and the final torchbearer who lit the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games cauldron during the opening ceremony. "There are remarkable similarities between Dwyane and myself, and I could not be more excited about developing a brand with him that speaks to those shared views," Li said.

Wade, who is "deeply moved" by China's "genuine passion for basketball" added that he is looking forward to grow the sport among the 200 million basketball players in the country.

Prior to the official launch of his signature line, Wade will wear a pair of specially-created Li-Ning basketball sneakers during the upcoming Miami HEATs, including two pre-season games to be played later this week in Beijing and Shanghai against the Los Angeles Clippers. Those sneakers will then be held for auction.

A marketing campaign comprising TV spots and other executions is in the works. Outside of China, Wade is also a brand endorser for Gatorade, Pepperidge Farm, Hublot, and Mission Athlete Care.