Hoops impersonator has all the right moves

Most hoops fans worldwide will be familiar with Brandon Armstrong's NBA player impersonations, however not all might be aware of his Chinese counterpart－Chen Haiyong, better known as Chen Tiaozhan, which means 'challenge' in Chinese.

Chen, from the seaside city of Xiamen in Fujian province, has impersonated the on-court moves of over 100 basketball stars from the NBA, CBA and China's women's national team.

"There is no secret about impersonation. It just derives from your talent. I think my ability is inherited from my mom," Chen told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Chen first rose to fame online by impersonating popular Team China and Fujian Sturgeons center Wang Zhelin.

From his dribble to his dunk, Chen has mimicked all of Wang's moves on the floor. In a one-minute video clip posted online, Chen even copied Wang's "air kiss" at the free-throw line. The impersonation attracted the attention of Wang himself, with the player reposted the video on social media.

"He exaggerated a little bit, but he captured the essence. It's pretty fun," Wang said.

Wang's international teammate Zhao Jiwei said of Chen: "He is so gifted. It's an unparalleled impersonation of Wang's play. That's all I can say."

"I'm quite happy to earn Wang's recognition," admitted Chen, who as a Fujian fan is a huge admirer of local hero Wang.

"China's basketball league has not gained a lot of recognition. I want to promote the CBA in my own way and do my part in promoting Chinese basketball. I will be pretty pleased if I can achieve that."

Chen's impersonation of LeBron James, including the NBA mega-star's signature talc-powder blow before matches, drew over 12 million views on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

Chen has also capitalized on the success of The Last Dance, a 10-episode ESPN documentary on the career of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, which has been a massive worldwide hit on TV and online.

Chen impersonated some typical Jordan moves, which earned him around 200,000 likes on Douyin.

"I like a lot of my videos, but my favorite will always be the next one," Chen said.

He admits that at first he didn't watch any highlight videos of the stars he was impersonating, but rather was just relying on his memory.

Nowadays, though, he is more professional in his approach－scripting each sequence and closely watching highlight reels.

Still, Chen doesn't rely on a professional team to shoot his videos. All other "players" in his videos are usually neighbors of his.

When no one is available, he has to set up a video camera and finish it himself. It usually takes him one or two hours to film a one-or two-minute video.

As for costumes, Chen cannot afford to buy all the authentic jerseys. Instead, he prepares them himself, often simply sticking paper to the shirt and writing the player's on it. When impersonating the LA Lakers' 'King James' or James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Chen gets into character by wearing a "beard".

Chen also counts Chinese women's players such as Han Xu and Li Meng among his repertoire, which requires him to wear a ponytail.

"Sometimes it takes about 10 minutes to prepare the props. But if I'm doing it myself, I will spend four or five hours," he said.

After becoming well known in China, Chen has received sponsorship from several local companies and even partook in the design of a selection of basketball products.

"I'm a designer who has not majored in designing," he smiled.

Chen has attempted to maintain a low profile with regards to his online popularity in recent years.

"Impersonator is more a tag than an achievement," he said.

As for what the future holds, Chen said: "I want to be among those actors playing basketball at the top level.

"I will continue to pay attention to basketball, but it's not everything. Family, love, friendship, there are many things I need to care about in the future. I want to be a good person who can contribute to society."

Xinhua