NBA all-star Paul Pierce has urged young basketballers to go outdoors and hone their skills in freestyle matches on the street.

The former Boston Celtics star, who finished as the NBA's top scorer after leading Boston to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals in 2002, believes childhood street matches were the source of his inspiration.

Boston Celtics' new signing Kevin Garnett (5), previously from the Minnesota Timberwolves, poses with his new teammates captain Paul Pierce (34) and Ray Allen (20) at a news conference to announce Garnett's signing in Boston, Massachusetts July 31, 2007. [Reuters] "It's all about creativity, it's all about imagination," Pierce said while watching the all-star game of a nationwide street basketball training camp organized by Nike last weekend.

"When I am playing outdoors, there are always some inspirations coming out. If you use them skillfully, they will improve your basketball."

China is renowned for systematically training its athlete - many are trained professionally since early childhood and usually have little experience in the less rigid arena of street games.

"The fundamentals are very important," Pierce said.

"You have to practice them a lot so you can use them in the games.

"That's what I worked on while playing on the street when I was young."

Influenced by the NBA, Chinese youth players are beginning to play outdoors rather than attending sports schools as an avenue to a professional career.

【体坛英语资讯：Pierce: Go out and play basketball on street】相关文章：

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Britney Spears wins more time with sons

★ 体坛英语资讯：Bielsa comes back to take charge of Chile

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Jet Li, Siqin Gaowa crowned at HK Film Awards

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Colour, art prevail at Milan Fashion Week

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Penelope flashes her assets in sexy new Mango ad

★ 体坛资讯：Late starters face uphill task in China

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Cruz sisters don fedoras for Mango ads

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Britney Spears stripped children custody

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Kid Rock pleads not guilty to battery charges

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Brad Pitt ready to rumble in boxing movie