Warriors enjoying Shanghai, the center of China’s basketball mania

SHANGHAI — Long after midnight Friday, as Klay Thompson signed autographs in front of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in this densely populated city, a young man in a black hoodie muscled his way toward the front of the scrum. In his hand was a yellow toaster. Months earlier, after a picture of Thompson signing a fan's toaster went viral online, many credited the kitchen appliance for the Warriors' 31-2 run to an NBA title. Now more than 6,000 miles away from the Bay Area, Thompson chuckled as he jotted his signature on another toaster. It was a funny scene, but not all that surprising. The Warriors were treated more like rock stars than athletes during their three days in Shenzhen.