The frenzy over the startling on-court performance of Chinese-American basketball star Jeremy Lin is coming at particularly auspicious time for some companies. Not only has “Linsanity” given Madison Square Garden (NASDAQ:MSG) a huge lift over the past month (MSG shares are up some 12% — deserved or not), but sports apparel makers are also poised to cash in.

One place that might prove to be particularly fruitful for such sales is China itself. Indeed, Adidas (PINK:ADDY) Chief Executive Herbert Hainer has told The Wall Street Journal that “China has shown that it is more interested in leisure and fashion than any other country” where Adidas operates.

The Journal reports that Adidas has big expansion plans for China, where it currently has 6,700 retail locations. And that will mean more intensified competition against rival Nike (NYSE:NKE), which is ahead of Adidas in terms of Chinese store count, with 7,500. The newspaper also cites Euromonitor as saying Nike is the leading sports brand in China.

How big might the New York Knicks’ Lin be in China? A separate Journal article says Adidas, “the world’s second-largest sports apparel company by revenue, has a licensing agreement with the NBA in China which allows it to capitalize on Lin’s star power. It and its peers would surely develop even more, but Lin is still under contract with Nike for another year.”

If Lin can keep up his sizzling shooting and playmaking, his name could soon become as synonymous with sneakers as Michael Jordan.