The National Basketball Association will reach out to its Chinese fan-base with a week long series of events to coincide with Chinese New Year celebrations. The Year of the Dragon will be marked by the showing of 21 NBA games on Chinese television stations as well as a variety of Chinese-themed events in both the United States and China. "Chinese New Year is a fun time of year and we wanted to join in the festivities," said NBA spokeswoman Heidi Ueberroth. The event kicks off with the televising of three games on Chinese-language TV on Saturday, including the Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando on Guangdong TV. On Sunday, the Washington Wizards will host a variety of Lunar New Year events during their game against the Boston Celtics. Chinese New Year officially begins Monday. Year of the Dragon is marked by excitement, unpredictability and exhilaration and people born under the Dragon sign are considered passionate, brave and self-assured.