Wu, who first appeared on the public radar around 2012, when he joined K-pop boy band EXO, has exploded in popularity within the last couple years, launching a solo singing career, snagging breakout roles in Chinese romantic blockbusters, and racking up a staggering 16 million followers on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.
吴亦凡2012年随韩国男团EXO出道，单飞后继续在乐坛和中国电影圈崭露头角。他在微博上拥有超过1600万粉丝。
Millions of those fans tuned in for Wu's recent NBA debut, which streamed live on Tencent Video, which is operated by one of China's largest Web portals.
无数中国粉丝通过腾讯视频直播见证了爱豆的NBA赛场首秀。
After the game, Wu, who was in Canada at the time, accepted an exclusive e-mail interview with the Global Times (GT), in which he discussed his passion for basketball, his new film with French director Luc Besson, his family and his fans.
赛后，人在加拿大的吴亦凡接受环球时报英文版邮件采访，谈对篮球的热爱、新电影，家人和粉丝。

Hoop dreams
GT: What was it like playing in an NBA game?
GT：NBA名人赛首秀是一种什么体验？
Wu: Of course I was happy - it was a dream come true. I was a little bit nervous as well. I expect myself to do better next time if possible, and to be more relaxed and enjoy the game.
吴：当然很开心，圆梦的感觉。NBA名人赛当天表现有点紧张，如果还有下一次我希望能更松弛，更好一些。
GT: Basketball's been a part of your life since childhood. Can you talk a bit about that history and how your experience with basketball has differed in China and abroad?
GT：童年起篮球便是你生活的一部分，能讲讲你与篮球的故事吗？你体会到的中西方篮球文化有何不同？
Wu: I started playing basketball with the aim of losing weight. Back then, I was tall but chubby, and always envious of my handsome schoolmates who could play basketball. So at first, it was an attempt to keep fit and to get stronger. But a year later I became more ambitious and decided I wanted to become a professional player. After that, when I came back to Guangzhou [from Canada], the coach of a local sports training school recruited me for professional training.
There are some differences between the youth basketball cultures in China and Canada. Honestly speaking, the thing that impressed me the most in the beginning was that Vancouver was not a great city for basketball, and there were not a lot of players around. Second, playing basketball abroad requires a lot of self-initiative, and many people are not well-trained. In China, there are sports schools that specialize in training professional players from a young age.
吴：小时候接触篮球主要是想减肥，那个时候比较胖，然后看到学校打球的男孩特别帅，自己长得比较高，就开始打篮球。开始时完全为运动，强身健体。练了大概一年，发现自己特别喜欢打篮球，当时就想打专业的比赛。后来[从加拿大]回到广州，偶然被体校球探教练看到，说条件不错，问我有没有兴趣打专业，就开始专业训练。
中西篮球文化还是有一些不同的。我当时很大的感触是第一，我在的温哥华毕竟不是很强的篮球城市，周边也可能不会有特别强的选手。第二，我觉得国外打篮球是比较自发性的，就是在学校打球，可能小时候没有特别系统的训练。但是国内不太一样，国内有体校机制的。有很多运动员，从小就被培养成了运动员。所以当我从国外打到国内之后，发现我的基本功跟不上，国内的基本功很扎实。
GT: What kind of player are you?
GT：你是什么类型的篮球手？
Wu: I usually play guard, but I can take different positions on the court. I work on my jump shot a lot. My fast dribbling and power allow me to drive through with my jump shot.
吴：比较多的是打后卫吧，我属于什么都做一点的选手。跳投练的多，我的弹速比较快，爆发比较强一点，所以我一般就是即停跳投，然后突破这种比较强一些。

END.