Even though Lebron James helps Team USA win the 2006 FIBA World Championship, he may still not be able to receive any salary. So why he make that step to participate in the World Championship held in Asia?

Lebron James is not only a talented basketball player but also a very shrewd businessman. He has set the goal of becoming the world's first athlete billionaire. U.S. market has been saturated for the last past years. In order to make his billionaire dream come true, he has to go beyond the U.S. market, to go globe.

Asia takes up a big proportion of the world's sportswear market and athletic shoe and apparel retailers are growing in China. Millions of teenagers there are awakening to basketball in an exploding rate. James smells the opportunity.

James and his newly formed company have made China a huge target market. That's why he would be playing for Team USA this summer in the world championship even without paying. Besides, the Cavaliers are considering opening the NBA season next year playing in China. He even took Mandarin Chinese lessons for the sake of being able to conduct better interviews in Beijing, China by 2008.

This shrewd businessman sees playing in Asia an opportunity to establish his reputation, promote himself and develop his own potential market.

Read by BruceLee, sportswriter for People's Daily online

By Zhenyu Li, sports writer for PD Online

The article represents the writer's views only