New York, May 16, 2008 -- The National Basketball Association announced today that in response to the recent tragedies in Asia, NBA Cares is supporting the efforts of the Red Cross and UNICEF to provide emergency relief to the people affected by the recent earthquake in China and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, respectively.

The league’s Chinese players, Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Yi Jianlian of the Milwaukee Bucks, have taped public service announcements encouraging fans to contribute to the relief efforts in China. The PSAs, taped in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, are scheduled to begin airing immediately on playoff broadcasts in the United States and in China.

Several NBA teams, including the Houston Rockets and its owner Leslie Alexander, are contributing financial resources to support the relief efforts. NBA players including Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Greg Oden, Raymond Felton, Leandro Barbosa, Andris Biedrins, Marko Jaric and Marcus Williams, among others, have already stepped forward to contribute as well. In addition to the PSA campaign, and the efforts of the teams and players, the NBA is contributing financial resources and featuring information and links for fans to get involved in the relief efforts on NBA.com.

NBA Cares is also supporting community partners UNICEF and the World Food Programme who are working around the clock to assist the relief efforts in Myanmar following the destruction left behind by Cyclone Nargis, which hit the Southeast Asian country on May 2.

To learn more, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or log on www.nba.com/nba_cares/asia_reliefefforts.html