New Orleans forward Solomon Hill provides the third Pelicans.com “postcard” from the team during its week-long visit to China. Hill discusses his experience in the country and why he's already thinking about a future return trip.
During our week so far in China, one of the things I've been most impressed with is how popular a team like the Houston Rockets are here and how much they seem to concentrate on China as an organization. China is Rockets Nation, almost. It's amazing to me to see the game expand across the world and see the number of people who love basketball, but also to see how the Rockets have reached out and tapped into another outlet here. The love they get here from fans is unbelievable.
I was saying to Alexis Ajinca that I think it would be cool for us if we went to France, and kind of make that a home game for us. Not only do we have the connection of the French Quarter in New Orleans, but also a player who's from France in Alexis. It would be cool to cultivate a group of people who love Pelicans basketball who are outside the United States.
Here in China, it's dope to see the fans and the love every player gets, from Anthony Davis down to the last guy on the roster. They definitely show a lot of respect for us as professional athletes. It kind of shows that you don't only play basketball for your family, but also for so many other people who've never even gotten a chance to see you in person before. There are fans at our hotel 24/7, just waiting for the opportunity to maybe get something signed by AD, or by James Harden – because those fans never know when they'll get the chance to see them again. They're miles and miles away and can only watch on TV, at certain times of the day. It's not like the games are on here at convenient times; they're on bright and early in the morning. It's cool to see the NBA go to other countries and play games. I love that idea and I hope we continue to build on it.
As much as we want to see places on this trip like the Great Wall of China, we were only there for a couple hours, long enough to take some pictures, but that is really a whole-day experience if you want to do it justice. What I look forward to is seeing things along the way that I can bookmark for future plans. I want to say, 'Now, that I've seen this and experienced it, I want to come back later when I have more time.' Because right now, it's still business more than anything during preseason and training camp for NBA teams, and we're playing against a tough opponent in Houston, with an MVP-caliber player.
I want to come back someday and see more of it and expand on what I've experienced this time. I definitely would consider coming back here in a future summer. Just the Great Wall of China alone was amazing in its own right. We were learning how it was built, when it was built, why it was built, how it was built. I'd like to really embrace a trip here and bring my family as well.
