NBA All-Star Game, Lunar New Year Energize This Longtime Youth Basketball Tournament in San Francisco's Chinatown

Growing up in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1950s and ’60s, Kenny Lee spent a lot of time at Betty Ann Ong Recreation Center, formerly known as Chinese Recreation Center. Like many kids in the neighborhood, he loved to play basketball.

“I used to play ball in the 70-pound division,” said Lee, a retired San Francisco Unified School District principal. “This place has always been very special to me.”

However, as he got older, Lee noticed his beloved recreation center had lost appeal among the next generation of Chinatown youth. In 1994, he decided to take action and went on to create a “basketball jamboree,” a non-competitive tournament held during Lunar New Year celebrations.

“I just wanted to create this little jamboree so that kids can come back into the community to play a fun event,” Lee said.

Now officially dubbed the Chinese New Year Basketball Jamboree, it’s become a beloved part of the festivities this time of year for many families. And the event, held just a week before this year’s NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center, made it feel doubly special for the middle school-age players and their families.

At the free, community-run event, three boys and three girls teams competed for fun — with no trophies or other prizes. Still, the stands — packed with parents and grandparents — roared in cheers as the kids dribbled up and down the hardwood with all the energy of a real, high-stakes game.

Anna Jew, a parent of a seventh grader at Presidio Middle School, said the Jamboree is like a reunion. The kids she used to play against when she went to Wallenberg High School and Roosevelt Middle School are now the parents cheering from the stands.

“ We’re all in this big family of basketball,” Jew said.

That extends to the referees and scorekeepers on the court, too.

“They all used to play here when they were kids, and they’re coming back to give back and to continue the tradition,” Lee said.

Vince Wong, who also grew up playing at the recreation center and has coached teams at the Jamboree in the past, said this tournament also aims to get kids excited about the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade from an early age. (The event is sponsored by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the annual festival and parade.)

“It’s not just ‘I’m marching with my school,’ but more so, they get to play in this, and then hopefully, as they grow up, they can volunteer for the street fairs and carry banners in the parade,” Wong said.

In light of the upcoming NBA All-Star Game, players were treated to new kicks. Representatives with Nike gave away free pairs of their new Kobe Bryant “Year of the Mamba” shoes. Many of the kids were so excited that they played in them without breaking them in.

Halle Chau, a seventh grader at Roosevelt Middle School, said she plans to watch the NBA All-Star Game this weekend and mark the Chinese New Year with her family, visiting temples and honoring her ancestors.

“It brings us all together, to celebrate and play basketball,” said Chau, who played in the Jamboree for the second year, in what feels like a new tradition.

The All-Star Game is the first of three major sporting events expected to take place in the Bay Area over the next 18 months. In 2026, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara — home of the San Francisco 49ers — is set to host Super Bowl LX and some FIFA World Cup matches.

“It’s a very exciting time,” said Zaileen Janmohamed, the CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee, a nonprofit corporation that bid for the region to host the events. “It kind of puts a stamp on what these sporting organizations thought and felt about the Bay, that it could help them grow the game in a way that maybe other cities couldn’t.”

This Presidents Day weekend, San Francisco braces for an influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors for both the All-Star Game and the Chinese New Year Parade. On Thursday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie told reporters that public transportation will be free all weekend in the city and the police department will be fully staffed.

Lurie also said the city has opened its emergency operations center “to strengthen our coordinated operations across departments.”

“Our priority is clear: We make sure everyone, every single person, feels safe and welcomed,” Lurie said.

Police Chief Bill Scott reminded the public that there will be road closures associated with both events and to expect longer travel times than usual.

KQED’s Alex Emslie and Brian Watt contributed to this report.