In a moment so full of passion for the NBA that I can only assume it was stolen from a David Stern wet dream, Tracy McGrady recently landed in China, where he will play for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association, as he is the next in the distinguished line of former NBA players to finish his career in the Far East. Despite a career hindered by injuries, T-mac has always been an NBA fan favorite for his “what could have been” highlight reel.

But don’t feel bad for the guy, he already has quite the following in his new country, and that was proven in the aforementioned video, which shows him being greeted at the airport by a mob of Chinese basketball fans, chanting, “T-Mac! T-Mac! T-Mac!” And you can tell that he’s in full-on “Bros, I just got off an airplane full of farts and baby screams” mode but they don’t care. They love them some T-Mac in China.

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With a 1.5 game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the 8th playoff spot in the East, it seems like the New York Knicks are in good position to at least make the playoffs. They’re still sitting at .500 (27-27) as they have been for most of the season, and even the energy of a new coach and system isn’t helping them get over the hump and back into serious contention, despite some analysts who have the Knicks pegged as a title contender hiding in the best spot possible. Because any team, regardless of talent level, really wants to play the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.

But over in China, an old Knick is proving that he had some gas left in the tank to get himself a championship. Stephon Marbury and the Beijing Ducks – mmmmmmmm, Beijing duck – are the new Chinese Basketball Association champions, after Starbury scored 41 points in Game 5 to oust the defending champions, Guangdong Hongyuan. Marbury also scored 52 points in Game 2 and 53 points in Game 3, so if you were wondering how the New York sports media would pass the time with Jeremy Lin out for the season… stop.

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