Steve Nash and Yao Ming got their two-day charity event started in grand style tonight. The two NBA stars helped raise over $1M (U.S.) at a star-studded dinner in Beijing. Other NBA stars in attendance included Carmelo Anthony, Baron Davis, Leandro Barbosa, DJ Strawberry, Paul Davis, Alondo Tucker, Amir Johnson and Chuck Hayes. All of the players were introduced to the dinner attendees and they received a rousing reception from the Chinese attendees. The NBA stars will play a Chinese team that features Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.

Ten of the top thirty most wealthy people in China attended the dinner that raised money for several Chinese Children's charities that include Chi Heng, a privately funded non-profit that works with children with AIDS; the Special Olympics and the China Youth Development Foundation.

I attended the event and sat at a table with Baron Davis and his agent Todd Ramasar, who is the President of Life Sports Management. We enjoyed dinner and good conversation. Davis is a super diverse guy whose business interests include a movie production company. I also had a long conversation with Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey who is here in Beijing to show his support for Yao Ming. It was my first opportunity to speak with Morey and I came away very impressed.

The event tonight featured a seven-course meal with plenty of entertainment. There were Chinese performers that ranged from violinists to a Chinese choir that sang American gospel (was my favorite performance of the night) to a Chinese country music trio (when they were introduced they were praised for having the "top selling ringtone song in China this year").

Then came the auction. All of the NBA players took the stage at one point or another during the auction to assist with the fundraising efforts. Baron Davis even did some basketball tricks in an effort to raise the price for his autographed jersey. The auction of the jerseys for both teams ended up selling for $42,000.00 (U.S.). All of the players posed for countless pictures with the Chinese dinner guests and even the service staff this evening. I didn't see a single autograph or picture request denied.

BDA Sports President Bill Duffy, BDA VP of Marketing Bill Sanders and Erik Zhang of BDA/Starz and Team Yao should be commended for organizing this effort. None of the three have slept in 48 hours and with the basketball game tomorrow, neither will sleep much tonight.

I had a chance to meet Steve Nash for the first time tonight on the bus ride back to the hotel following the dinner. If there is a more gracious, more socially responsible athlete in the world, I'm not sure who that person is. And Nash seemed truly in awe of tonight's reception by the Chinese people. Its his first trip to Beijing (he has only been to Hong Kong previously).

On Friday the NBA stars will scrimmage against the Chinese National team and then the two teams will meet for an exhibition game on Friday night. The NBA players practiced earlier today before spending the afternoon touring Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City......an experience that left most of the NBA stars in awe.

Once the game is over and everyone goes their separate ways, the Jordan Brand reps here in China are going to take Carmelo Anthony to tour a sports apparel factory. I think that's fantastic and wish that more athletes with sports apparel and shoe contracts took the time to visit the factories to see where the product is made when they visit China. Now if Melo is asked about the conditions at the factories he will be able to speak from an informed standpoint. He'll also get to see firsthand how the product is made, which I'm sure will be as educational for him as it was for me earlier this week.

I'll check in after the game and let you know how things turned out and what the final tally is for funds raised from this two-day event. I plan on attending practice tomorrow and hope to get some soundbytes from the players who have taken the time to come all the way to China for this effort.

(PHOTO Credits to Marc Salsberry)