Within hours of being stopped by traffic police at an intersection after riding a battery-powered scooter without a helmet, Harden took to his millions of followers on Weibo that he regretted his actions but said he was “trying to enjoy the city as much as possible”.

Harden and his Rockets are in China on a promotional tour after visits to Beijing and Guangzhou – they also visited Manila – and the 29-year-old shooting guard caused a commotion in downtown Shanghai by riding his scooter with his friends without wearing a helmet and riding a battery-powered scooter on the main road in violation of traffic regulations in the city.

Harden and his friends had been seen during the night riding their bikes and were caught by police on Saturday afternoon after they left the Shangri-La Hotel. Harden took to Chinese social media Weibo to apologise for his actions. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are banned on the mainland.

“China, thank you for your hospitality. I would like to apologise for violating traffic rules during my scooter ride today,” he wrote on Weibo. “Not a good example obviously but I was just trying to enjoy the city as much as possible. Thank you for your understanding and I’ll make sure to abide by the rules next time here.”

Videos of Harden’s scooter adventures have racked up millions of hits on the mainland where he enjoys superstar status. Last year’s NBA MVP winner and his Rockets have been on promotional tours to China before, most notably in 2016 and 2017. They have caused a frenzy with fans whenever they make an appearance.

In one video, he is asked by one fan how he was doing and to “enjoy himself”, to which Harden said “thank you” as he rode off on his scooter. It is not known whether Harden was given a citation for breaking the law but reports suggest that his scooter was confiscated.