This afternoon, September 4, Shanghai Jiao Tong University hosted the opening of the 2025 Freshmen Sports and Culture Festival—featuring the Freshmen Basketball Carnival and a campus visit by NBA legend LeBron James—at the Fok Ying Tung Sports Center on the Minhang Campus. James made a surprise appearance and joined more than 3,000 students and faculty to kick off the day’s events.
Attending guests included:
- Mingyang Xue, President of the Shanghai University Sports Association
- Siying Lin, Vice President of the Shanghai Basketball Association
- Hua Chen, Director of PE/Health/Arts & Science Education, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission
- Duo Shi, Deputy Director of the same office
- Hanxuan Xu, Senior Director for Basketball, Nike Greater China
- Xin Zhao, SJTU Deputy Party Secretary
- Chaoyang Yu, Standing Committee Member of the Party Committee and Director of the Publicity Department
- Junlong Zhu, Class of 2025 and member of China’s men’s national basketball team.
Deputy Party Secretary Xin Zhao announced the official opening of the 2025 Freshmen Sports & Culture Festival, launching the Freshmen Basketball Carnival.
Four SJTU basketball teams—men’s and women’s high-performance squads and men’s and women’s Sunshine squads—took the floor. The guests presented each team with its new-season flag and offered best wishes for the year ahead.
Next came the Shooting Star Challenge, a lively contest featuring 10 mixed teams of SJTU student-athletes and Shanghai youth players. Athletes collaborated across age groups and school levels, with SJTU players coaching the younger athletes on shooting form. Crisp three-pointers and smooth relay passing drew repeated applause from the crowd.
During a special segment of the Carnival, LeBron James stepped onto the court to thunderous cheers. In a Q&A, he spoke about how he felt entering the league and encouraged students to start university life with a positive mindset; when in doubt, take action. His straightforward message resonated across the arena, with students capturing the moment on their phones.
LeBron James then joined Xin Zhao, Mingyang Xue, Siying Lin, and student representatives to launch the “Shanghai Campus Basketball Legendary Mentor” initiative, which brings international perspectives and professional expertise to campus basketball and opens new pathways for talent development. He also tossed the opening ball for a basketball exhibition game, featuring mixed lineups from the high-performance and Sunshine teams.
The Freshmen Sports and Culture Festival offers first-year students an introduction to SJTU’s sports culture, with the Basketball Carnival serving as a key highlight. SJTU is committed to growing campus sports and fostering a positive athletics environment by staging signature events and providing platforms for students to train and showcase their skills. Looking ahead, the university will continue to advance campus sports culture, bring people together, energize student life, and develop SJTU talent.
Source: Department of Physical Education
Photography: Nanyang News Agency (Jianxiang Liang, Yimeng Wei, Xinhao Cai, et al.)
Additional images: Undergraduate Affairs Committee, Security Office, Logistics Support Center
Editors: Yuyang Chen (Editor), Xue Jin (Chief Editor)
