Raised in Taiwan, Chen took the top job in Microsoft's China operations four years ago. Before that, he was the chairman and president of Motorola's China operations, having worked his way up through the ranks except for a yearlong foray in 2000 and 2001 as the chief executive of a Hong Kong Internet business.
"Certainly his technical background we think is a great fit in our new media and digital area," said Heidi Ueberroth, NBA president of global marketing partnerships and international business operations.
Chen became interested in basketball while studying for an MBA at the University of Chicago and started rooting for the Chicago Bulls, Stern said.
The NBA estimates that 300 million Chinese play basketball, a number equal to the entire population of the US. At nearly a quarter of China's population, that estimate may be high, but basketball has caught on here in a way that other Western sports have not.
The Las Vegas Sands Corp has chosen to have two exhibition games featuring NBA teams next month to mark the opening in Macau of its indoor sports arena attached to the new Venetian hotel complex.
The game, pitting the Orlando Magic against the Cleveland Cavaliers, sold out 10 hours after tickets went on sale.
Yao Ming (姚明), the Houston Rockets center from Shanghai, helped popularize NBA basketball, but the NBA tapped the Chinese market early. In 1979, the Washington Bullets came to China to play the national team.
Tom Doctoroff, the chief executive of greater China operations for the JWT advertising agency, said basketball was particularly suited to the current tastes of young Chinese for activities showcasing agility, ingenuity and individualism.
"In China, the quickest and cleverest guy is also the sexiest," he said.
"The NBA is Eve's apple; it's brash individualism," he added. "It's something to admire from afar."
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