NBA...2011 Haier Shooting Stars

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TEAMS FROM ATLANTA, CHICAGO, L.A. AND TEXAS
                  TO COMPETE IN 2011 HAIER SHOOTING STARS
            -- Texas Looking to Become First Team to Repeat --

Team Texas is going to attempt to become the
first  repeat  Haier Shooting Stars champion as it competes against a field
that  includes  squads  representing Atlanta, Chicago and NBA All-Star 2011
host city Los Angeles at Staples Center on Feb. 19.

The  home  team  from  Los  Angeles, which won the inaugural Haier Shooting
Stars competition in 2004, includes the Lakers’ Pau Gasol, who was selected
to  his  fourth  All-Star  Game,  which  will be played Feb. 20, at Staples
Center;  the Los Angeles Sparks’ Tina Thompson, the WNBA’s all-time leading
scorer;  and  NBA  TV  analyst Rick Fox, a three-time NBA champion with the
Lakers (2000-02).

Team  Atlanta  features  the Hawks’ Al Horford, who was named to his second
consecutive  All-Star  Game  this year; Coco Miller of the reigning Eastern
Conference  champion  Atlanta  Dream;  and  NBA  TV analyst Steve Smith, an
All-Star  selection  in  1998  with  the Hawks and a member of the 2003 NBA
champion San Antonio Spurs. Team Chicago is comprised of the Chicago Bulls’
Taj Gibson, who will represent the Sophomores
in  the  2011  T-Mobile  Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam to be held Feb. 18 at
Staples  Center;  the Chicago Sky’s Cathrine Kraayveld, one the WNBA’s best
long-range  shooters;  and  TNT  NBA  Analyst  Steve  Kerr, a five-time NBA
champion  with  the  Chicago  Bulls  (1996-98) and San Antonio Spurs (1999,
2003).

Defending  champion  Team Texas is represented by Dallas Mavericks All-Star
Dirk  Nowitzki,  the organization’s all-time leading scorer and one of only
24  NBA  players  to  have  scored  at least 22,000 points; the San Antonio
Silver  Stars’  Roneeka  Hodges, who last season averaged a career-high 3.2
rebounds  to  go  along  with  7.7  points;  and TNT analyst Kenny Smith, a
two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets (1994, 1995).

In  last year’s competition, Team Texas, which featured Nowitzki, Smith and
the  San  Antonio  Silver Stars’ Becky Hammon, defeated Team Los Angeles in
the final round with a time of 34.3 seconds.

Haier  Shooting  Stars will be televised live nationally as part of the NBA
All-Star  Saturday  Night  presented by State Farm, which will also feature
the  Foot  Locker  Three-Point  Contest, Sprite Slam Dunk, Taco Bell Skills
Challenge,  and  NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas. TNT and ESPN
Radio’s national coverage will begin at 8 p.m. EST from Staples Center. The
NBA  All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 20, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and
in more than 200 countries and will be broadcast in more than 40 languages.

The  Haier  Shooting  Stars  contest  features  one current NBA player, one
current  WNBA  player  and  one  TNT on-air talent and legend on each team.
There  are  six  numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with
each  team  attempting  to  make  all shots in numeric order in the fastest
time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout
the  competition.  Each  shot  must  be  made before the next player begins
shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire
shooting  course  and  the  team  that completes all six shots in the least
amount  of  time  is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off
will be used to determine the winner.

About Haier America
Haier  America  is  the  Sales  and  Marketing  arm of the Americas for the
multinational   Haier   Group,  the  world’s  largest  white  goods  brand.
Headquartered  in  the  Haier  Building  at 1356 Broadway in New York City,
Haier  America  is a leader for room air conditioner, compact refrigerator,
and  wine  cellar  sales,  as  well as a leading force in major appliances,
compact  appliances,  portable  electronics  and  HDTV  sales.  Haier is an
Official  Marketing  Partner and the Official High Definition Television of
the NBA. www.haieramerica.com.

                                   # # #


Listed  below  are the previous winning teams from the Haier Shooting Stars
competition:

2004 (Los Angeles)
Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers legend), Derek Fisher (L.A. Lakers), Lisa Leslie
(L.A. Sparks)

2005 (Denver)
Dan  Majerle  (Phoenix  Suns  legend),  Shawn  Marion (Phoenix Suns), Diana
Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)

2006 (Houston)
Steve  Kerr  (San  Antonio  Spurs legend), Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs),
Kendra Wecker (San Antonio Silver Stars)

2007 (Las Vegas)
Bill Laimbeer (Detroit Pistons legend), Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons),
Swin Cash (Detroit Shock)

2008 (New Orleans)
David  Robinson (San Antonio legend), Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), Becky
Hammon (San Antonio Silver Stars)

2009 (Phoenix)
Bill  Laimbeer  (Detroit  legend),  Aaron  Afflalo (Detroit Pistons), Katie
Smith (Detroit Shock)

2010 (Dallas)
Kenny  Smith (Texas legend), Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks), Becky Hammon
(San Antonio Silver Stars)
(See attached file: 2011 Haier Shooting Stars Announced.doc)