English: Cai Xukun Plays Basketball
中文：蔡徐坤打篮球
If someone tells others on the field, how can you “play like basketball like Cai Xukun,” it is meant as a negative remark. The stalk of Cai Xukun playing basketball originated from a self-introduction by Cai Xukun, saying that he likes singing, dancing, rap and basketball. After the introduction, he took a basketball and started to show his skills.
This very popular meme and only true Chinese meme scholars would understand.
Transcript
Hello everyone, I am a personal trainee who has practiced for two and a half years. Cai Xukun, I like singing, dancing, rap, basketball, music
全民制作人们大家好，我是练习时长两年半的个人练习生 蔡徐坤，喜欢唱、跳、rap、篮球，music
Quán mín zhì zuò rén mén dà jiā hǎo，wǒ shì liàn xí shí cháng liǎng nián bàn dē gè rén liàn xí shēng，cài xú kūn， xǐ huān chàng tiào rap lán qíu， music～
Background
KUN, also known as Cai Xukun, is a singer, songwriter, and music producer, who has over 27 million followers on Weibo, Chinese’s biggest social media platform. He has topped the “Star Power List” for over a year and is consistently ranked No. 1 on the “Celebrity Topic List” of Weibo. Debuted in the first place from the hit show Idol Producer in 2018, Kun has been known for his charismatic performance style and is often referred to as the “King of Stage” by his fans. Kun was awarded the Most Influential Idol and the Best Performing Male Singer in 2019.
As one of the most sought-after idol artists in China today, Kun has been devoting all his time and energy to making his own music. He kicked off his first tour in North America and the U.K. in early April of 2019. After successfully wrapped up his tour, he returned to China and released couple new songs, including a digital album YOUNG. YOUNG had become the best selling album across all music platforms in China at all times. In 2020, Kun joined iQiyi’s variety show “Youth With You Season 2” as a Youth Producer.
Spread
Together with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson, Cai Xukun shot three New Year promotional videos to express NBA official congratulations on the Chinese New Year. Chinese fans of NBA know were shocked and incensed that Cai Xukun was selected as one of the NBA’s official Chinese New Year spokespersons
In the promotional film, Cai Xukun shows his basketball skills by mixing ball handling skill with hip-hop dance moves. Netizens made many memes and video remixes which pushed the meme from basketball niche to mainstream popularity.
Some netizens expressed that they were embarrassed, and felt Cai Xukun was playing basketball too soft and effeminate. However, Cai Xukun’s resume stated that he used to be on an American school basketball team and some netizens felt that his performance combining dance and basketball was very creative and impressive.
