Yao Ming's Evolution (CNN/SI)

[stuart]

From CNN/SI: link (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_ballard/04/10/yao.ming0416/index.html?section=si_latest)

The Evolution of Yao
No longer a novelty, Yao Ming has arrived as the first dominating supersized player in NBA history -- picking up a driver's license, some U2 CDs and a dry sense of humor along the way

It happened two nights before Christmas. Six minutes into a game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets center Yao Ming jumped to block a shot. As he did, teammate Chuck Hayes toppled toward him. Yao remembers a great weight bearing down on his right leg, then a sharp pain. He sank to the floor at Houston's Toyota Center, clutching his right knee.

With help, he hobbled off the court, hoping for the best -- perhaps he'd sit out one or two games, then return. All summer he'd said the same thing over and over to assistant coach Tom Thibodeau during their workouts: "Eighty-two games, I need to play 82 games." At the hospital, however, an MRI revealed the grim news: a bone fracture under the knee. Six weeks minimum.

Yao was crushed. Before the setback, he was finally being recognized not for what he represented but for his performance. No longer was he a curiosity, the Asian giant come to conquer America, to be paired in TV commercials with 2'8" Verne Troyer, as he had in an Apple ad in his rookie season of 2002-03. Nor, as had happened next, was he seen primarily as a symbol, a 7'6" totem of the exploding global sports economy and warming relations between East and West. Rather, for the first time, the most interesting thing about Yao Ming was the way he played basketball. He was averaging 27 points and nine rebounds and being mentioned as an MVP candidate. After Yao scored 36 points in a rout of the Mavericks in November, Dallas coach Avery Johnson marveled, "He was playing like we were not even on the floor."

Yao's ascendancy took many by surprise, as it seemed sudden, but it was not. In the U.S., where people are fascinated by six-day diets and overnight idols, consistency has no cult following. For Yao, whose work ethic may be unsurpassed in the NBA, his skill had accreted day by day, drill by drill, film session by film session, until he'd become a player unique not just in today's league but also in the history of the NBA. Not because of his nationality, as most assumed, but because he had evolved into the first truly dominating "supersized" player, that breed of NBA behemoth who is 7'4" or taller.

As such, Yao was the centerpiece of a grand experiment by the Rockets. Never before had there been a supersized player who wasn't a specialist or injury-prone. Mark Eaton (7'4") and Manute Bol (7'6") were one-dimensional, useful only as shot blockers. Shawn Bradley (7'6") couldn't adapt to the pace or the physicality of the league. Gheorghe Muresan (7'7") was skilled, but he played only three full seasons; the same was true for Ralph Sampson (7'4"). None of those players were asked to log 35 minutes a night and carry a team. But now, in his fifth season, Yao was doing just that. Finally comfortable with both American culture and the NBA game, he had reached the third step in his evolution. No longer a novelty or an emblem, he had become the best big man in the NBA.

And then the injury. Yao spent the night with his leg immobilized, despondent. He wondered whether his career would be defined by what could have been. Members of the Rockets' staff, which had invested so much in Yao, worried too. How would he respond? He'd already been through two rehabs in the previous year. In April 2006 he'd broken a bone in his left foot, requiring surgery. Four months earlier, he had undergone surgery to clean out an infection in his left big toe that required doctors to shear off part of the bone. Though only 26, he already had the worn, creased feet of someone 20 years older.


But when Yao began his rehab five days later, he had ceased brooding, deeming it unproductive. (This is how Yao thinks.) He started by lifting weights, working with Anthony Falsone, a onetime Rockets strength coach who became Yao's personal trainer in 2005. Falsone is a short, energetic man with a shaved head, the kind of guy who shows off his biceps by declaring, "Welcome to the gun show!" As Falsone maintained Yao's strength, Thibodeau worked on Yao's basketball touch, overseeing him as he shot baskets from a chair. By early February, Yao was running again, weeks ahead of schedule.


On a cool morning in the second week of the month, Yao arrived at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston at nine for his workout. Though he doesn't look bulky, Yao is far and away the strongest player on the Rockets. (He can bench 310 pounds.) This is a contrast from when he joined the team: During one of his first workouts, as he did incline presses with 45-pound dumbbells, Yao watched then teammate Jason Collier hefting 100-pounders. He turned to Falsone and asked if he'd ever be able to do that. Says Falsone, "This year, we bought 120-pound dumbbells just for Yao."


What makes Yao's increased strength more remarkable is that he has developed it without adding weight. When he entered the league, he was 300 pounds; today he is 302. This is by design. The Rockets want him to stay around 300 pounds to limit the stress on his joints, in hopes he will not be hobbled like his outsized predecessors. "Most guys gain three or four pounds a year, which doesn't sound like much, but after 10 years it adds up," says Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy. "Not Yao. No player I've been around works harder."

(continued below)

[stuart]

Only once did Yao stray, after his first season. He'd gone home to Shanghai, then returned to Dallas to practice with the Chinese national team. The Rockets sent Falsone to check up on Yao. The two met in the lobby of Yao's hotel. "He looked good," recalls Falsone, "and he said he felt good. So I say, 'Let's go up to your room and check your body fat.' Well, I get up there, and there are about 30 beer cans in the room."

Yao protests, smiling. "But only about 20 percent of them were mine! I had an old friend in town."

Yao had been enjoying his summer and had thickened to 330 pounds. "At that time, I don't know how much hard work I need to put into my career," he says. "I don't know how to keep myself in shape. Two summers ago, I stay here and train with Tom Thibodeau, and that was the first year that Anthony totally worked for me. I feel really good after that summer. I feel the next year is totally different."

If there is an opponent who originally drove Yao to become stronger, it was Shaquille O'Neal. Now that role is filled by Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic's 6'11", 265-pound center. When Howard's name comes up during the workout, Yao peppers a reporter with questions. "Does Howard have a trainer?" "How much is he lifting -- [former teammate] Steve Francis said he was always lifting." It is an understandable concern. With Shaq on the downside of his career, Howard is the one NBA center athletic and strong enough to pose a threat to Yao over the next five years. (Ohio State's Greg Oden may soon join that group.) "A lot of NBA centers are not that strong," Yao says. "They are big but a little soft. But he is strong, very strong." (Howard views the dynamic similarly. "Every time we play each other it seems he plays extra hard," Howard says of Yao. "It's sort of like a rivalry." Told Yao is benching 310, Howard says with a smile, "Oh, that's pretty good." After a pause he adds, "My highest is 345.")

Once done lifting, Yao and Falsone head to the practice field at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Texans, so Yao can run on its forgiving rubberized surface. It is a 20-minute drive, and because of Yao's knee, Falsone drives Yao's Infiniti QX56 SUV. Though it's not on display on this morning, Yao's driving is a topic of amusement for many of the Rockets. When he first came to the U.S., Yao had never driven a car. "He was riding a bike the day I first met him [in Beijing]," says general manager Carroll Dawson. Yao learned to drive in parking lots, then passed his driving test (a source of great pride), but there were still some close calls. He backed into a teammate's car and was known to poke along on the highway at 40 mph.

As Falsone drives, Yao sits in the front passenger seat, one enormous leg crossed over the other. Falsone puts on a U2 CD and cranks it up. Yao asks him to skip forward one track, then one more.

"This one?" says Falsone.

"Yes," says Yao.

The opening chords of Desire rumble through the car, Bono's opening exhalation followed by that staccato guitar riff.

"I can't listen to this song and drive," proclaims Yao, slowly moving his head. "I begin to drive too fast."

They arrive at Reliant, and once inside the practice bubble, Yao begins running, starting at one goal line and loping toward the other. Each day, Falsone will up the pace, as Yao is anxious to return. The following week, responding to pressure from his team and representatives, Yao flies to Las Vegas for All-Star Weekend on one condition: that he can continue his rehab work. Though he is booked for a half dozen events each day, Yao is up at 6 a.m. working out. "I guarantee you he was the only NBA player who didn't attend a party that weekend," says Bill Sanders, the vice president of marketing for BDA Sports Agency, which handles Yao's affairs. "When you talk about the Americanization of Yao, that's the one part I'm glad he hasn't taken on."

In most respects, however, Yao has adapted to American culture. He hasn't used an interpreter since his third season, and his English is good, if at times choppy. (In a recent conversation, he did not know the word competitive.) To some, this comes as a surprise because of the misconception that Yao knew no English when he arrived in the U.S. In fact, at their initial meeting in 2001, Dawson recalls, "The first thing he said was, 'Coach Dawson, welcome to China.' I was amazed."

Yao also possesses a dry wit that has served him well in the locker room -- asked what he is best at besides basketball, he offers: "Maybe make jokes?" -- though it doesn't always translate in print. For example, when a reporter inquires whether Yao might add a new move in the off-season, he replies, deadpan: "We think about dribble the ball coast to coast for slam dunk."

It is now late March, and after missing 32 games, Yao is back in the lineup. The league, caught up as it is in the Mavericks-Suns rivalry, has not taken notice yet, but Houston is making a push. The Rockets have won six of eight since Yao's return, and there is reason for more optimism. When the starting five of Yao, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier, Rafer Alston and Hayes have played together, Houston has outscored opponents by an average of 32 points per 48 minutes, by far the top margin in the league. The caveat: Because of injuries, the Rockets' quintet has logged only 275 minutes together. Still, the team feels good about its chances of passing the Utah Jazz for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. On this night the opponent is the Indiana Pacers.

As he does before every game, Yao arrives at the arena at 9 a.m., an hour and a half before the shootaround. As always, Thibodeau is there to meet him. The coach begins by going over tape, showing Yao how he will be defended by a pair of 6'11" Pacers, center Jeff Foster and power forward Jermaine O'Neal. After 45 minutes, the two men head to the court, where Yao runs through shooting drills for another 45 minutes. Then, sweaty and breathing hard, Yao joins his teammates, some of whom have just arrived and are still sleepy-eyed, for the shootaround.

Yao is also the first on the floor at the Toyota Center that evening, hitting the court at 6 p.m. for an 8:30 game. He begins with spot shooting, circling through nine locations, seven on the perimeter and the two "short corners," 15 feet to either side of the basket along the baseline. The goal is to hit eight of 10 from each spot; if Yao fails, Thibodeau gives him a second chance. Most of the time, he doesn't need it.

Yao makes nine of 10 from the left elbow, then only seven of 10 from the wing.

"F---," says Yao, under his breath. On other misses he grimaces or shakes his head. Alston calls Yao's approach "almost perfectionist," while Rockets forward Juwan Howard says it's "extreme, in a good way." To watch him shoot is to see the motion at its most refined. He keeps the ball high and releases it with his right hand in a short flicking action. He does not jump and barely even moves his legs. It is almost robotic.

Next Yao steps to the line, where he hits all 10 of his free throws. Through Sunday he was shooting 86.0%, second only to Kobe Bryant among players who were averaging eight or more attempts per game. Yao's percentage not only led the team (he frequently shoots the Rockets' technicals) but also was nearly six percentage points better than that of any other center. In fact, there has never been a back-to-the-basket center as accurate from the line. (Jack Sikma shot 84.9% for his career -- almost three points higher than Yao's five-season average -- but he was a 6'11" jump shooter.)

"O.K., post moves next," commands Thibodeau.

Yao sets up on the right block, practicing jump hooks, then turnarounds. It is part of his continuing education as a low-post player: developing counters, taking angles, rooting for position. "What people forget is that he was an elbow player when we got him," says Dawson. "He had a lot of finesse things in his system, and we felt like power moves were what he needed."

When Yao gets good position and faces up, he is virtually unguardable, as is clear two hours later versus the Pacers. When Yao squares up in the first quarter, Foster doesn't even try to alter his shot. Later, against O'Neal, the leading shot blocker in the league, Yao only has to turn his shoulder to shoot uncontested jump hooks. Though his knee is still balky -- it is the first night he has worn a sleeve rather than a brace -- he makes 10 of 17 shots from the field (and 12 of 13 from the line), and finishes with 32 points and 14 rebounds in an 86-76 Rockets win.

Afterward an Eastern Conference scout stands outside the locker room and stares at the stat sheet. "Nobody could stop him," the scout says. "If he plays like that, they could do some damage in the playoffs. I would
not want to play them in the first round."

It was imperceptible to most, but another element of Yao's evolution was on display. When he entered the league, he was criticized for being passive. Now, not only does Yao call for the ball, but he also occasionally breaks a play, as in the fourth quarter when, instead of setting a screen for McGrady, he posted up on the right side. (After the game he sheepishly admits he made the move because his shot was feeling so good.) "If it was up to me, I'd throw the ball to Yao every time down court," says McGrady. "The more his confidence grows, the better he gets."

Rockets coaches have noticed the change in attitude. Van Gundy says Yao has added the proper amount of stubbornness, and Thibodeau says, "His self-assurance now is as high as it's ever been." Yao agrees that he feels more confident, but despite his numbers, he still sees himself as an outsider among the NBA elite. "I still have a long way to go," he says. "I feel that every year I getting better, better, then -- boom -- next level. And then new, stronger player coming. And I feel, Where is the end?" He pauses. "If you relax or take it easy for yourself, they will beat you, someday. Maybe tomorrow, maybe day after tomorrow."

Told this is a fatalistic viewpoint for a five-time All-Star, he smiles: "That is what 1.3 billion people watching you will do."

Nearly an hour after the end of the Pacers game, almost midnight, Yao arrives at his locker to meet the media. Immediately after every game, while his teammates shower, he heads to the weight room with Falsone to lift for 40 minutes. Despite the late hour and early deadlines, 17 journalists remain around his locker. Nine are from Chinese outlets, including Wang (Rock) Meng, a Shanghai writer who has covered Yao since his first NBA game. Wang files 6,000 words on Yao three times a week for Titan Media. At first, much of the material was about Yao's life off the court. Now, Wang estimates, only 10% is about Yao's life, and the rest covers Yao's play and the Rockets. "There are now lots of Yao haters in China," says Wang, who nonetheless estimates that 70% of Chinese fans support Yao. "In my opinion, it is because they do not like centers because they are sort of slow and cannot do the fantasy moves that Kobe or McGrady do."

Once the questions begin, Yao, as is his custom, does not dwell on the positives. In spite of the 32 points he scored, he is concerned with his decision-making.

Did he feel comfortable on offense?

"A lot of turnovers," Yao says. "Six. A very high number. I'm sure right now Coach Thibodeau is putting those turnovers on a tape, and I'll watch for one hour tomorrow."

The reporters laugh because Yao is joking, but not really. As Yao is speaking, Thibodeau is going over game film in an adjacent room. By morning he will have a DVD ready. The next time the two men meet, Yao will study the DVD, look for tiny mistakes and determine what adjustments he should make. Then he will practice those adjustments, over and over, until they become part of him, until he has evolved further. This, Yao Ming hopes, is how he will overcome history, his own oversized limbs and the expectations of an entire country. This is how the experiment continues.

[Phantim3dx]

in the movie the last samurai when Watanabe Ken says perfect to his cherry blossom poem as he is dying. not to be melodramatic but thats the word when I think of Yaos work ethic.

[Jan van Grabski]

video clip about yao by fiba
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/inte/vide/inte/p/langid/1/newsid/19083/inte.html

[rycorpz]

can't wait to see yao and others at the olympics

[justAfan]

Different Countries, different basketball MVPs. But I think many will agree if I say that Yao is the best in Asia today, and even one of the Best in the NBA. In the Philippines, we have the likes of a Kelly Williams, Mark Caguioa, Danny Seigle, Willie Miller, Jimmy Alapag and James Yap.

We are still in search for the first possible Filipino to play in the NBA. But making Yao as an inspiration, not just for the Filipino ballers but for all Asians, will bring the players the to right track towards their goal of making it to the World's Best Basketball League (NBA).

Talent, hard-work, discipline. Every baller should have in order for him to succeed. Yao, has all that.

Longlive Asian Basketball!
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas Basketball!
:)

[rommelc]

Yao is considered as best basketball player in Asia now but not a best in NBA. He is lack of his lateral foot movement.

[ctongco]

He's good, not overrated. :)

[rycorpz]

He's very good and mobile at his height he's the best player in Asia no doubt and being the best in NBA is not far away if his mind and body set on it that's not impossible

[protossdomain]

I don't think Yao Ming is overrated. Now, I'm not saying Yao is that great of a center but currently he is one of the best centers in the NBA.

But one thing people are forgetting that as a 7'5" center, it isn't that easy to play. Just look at Shawn Bradley. How did his NBA career end up? Did he ever average over 20 points per game?

Yao is improving his post moves every year and his footwork is excellent for a big man. Once Yao gets into his rhythm, it's almost impossible to stop him in the post, and it's almost impossible to block his jumper. Now I'm not saying Yao doesn't have any weaknesses because he does. He stamina is limited and cannot grab many rebounds due to that. Yao doesn't have enough energy to hustle for boards, yet he averaged about 10 rebounds this past season.

The reason the Rockets have not even gotten out of the 1st round with the T-mac/Yao or Francis/Yao combo is because they don't have many role players or a good bench.

[onono1]

Yao Ming is not over-rated, how many times people have watched him all over the world and it has proven giant ming is really good not just an over rated player for commercial purposes....

[joel23]

I saw Yao is now Asia's best only but no way in the world. I saw Yao more weaknesses are lack on his footwork, slightly weak bump bodied, limiting moves and slower a bit but his shooting touch has verygood even he could scored 20points. He is a tallest player in Asia's best players.

[bestkept]

i think he is over rated..why???he is asia's best right now because he recieved training when he enterd the NBA. But when he was still in Asia, his skills can be matched by smaller centers in Asia. he looked very good and unstopable because he is 7'5" tall..imagine make Yao shorter like 6'9"? will he still look that good back then before his NBA days?

[rikhardur]

Not overrated at all imo, in fact I really can't understand why some say so.

[jxuusa]

i think he is over rated..why???he is asia's best right now because he recieved training when he enterd the NBA. But when he was still in Asia, his skills can be matched by smaller centers in Asia. he looked very good and unstopable because he is 7'5" tall..imagine make Yao shorter like 6'9"? will he still look that good back then before his NBA days?

What are you on.....? Make Shaq 6'4 then and see how he does. You are taking this question out of context.

Yao was one of the most dominate centers, if not the most dominate center in Asia even before he came to the USA. But after that he bulked up and improved his skills. Plus, its the word of professional analysts and fellow NBA players who say he's the best NBA center against yours. Shaq is past his prime, Oden is raw, Big Z is as slow as a turtle, Tim Duncan and Amare are truely fowards and not centers, so they can't really be figured into the equation. Yao isn't perfect because he still has some trouble with truely physical players and gets winded, but his improvement since going to the NBA is drastic only because he works his ass off and plays against great competition. There is nobody in Asia who is even close to the NBA level (except for maybe Yi and Sun when they sign).

If anything, I think you guys are over-rating some of your own players.

[-K2-]

Yao is not overrated, he is really good and he can be even better. Yi is overrated but thats another whole story :)

[donmar]

I think Yao Ming is a good baller and an over-rated at the same time... but who cares about it... what matters is, he's the best player in Asia!...

In the NBA... I can't say he's dominant as Shaquille O'Neal until he himself won an NBA title... but then again, that doesn't mean he's not one of the best centers in the NBA...

[bestkept]

What are you on.....? Make Shaq 6'4 then and see how he does. You are taking this question out of context.

Yao was one of the most dominate centers, if not the most dominate center in Asia even before he came to the USA. But after that he bulked up and improved his skills. Plus, its the word of professional analysts and fellow NBA players who say he's the best NBA center against yours. Shaq is past his prime, Oden is raw, Big Z is as slow as a turtle, Tim Duncan and Amare are truely fowards and not centers, so they can't really be figured into the equation. Yao isn't perfect because he still has some trouble with truely physical players and gets winded, but his improvement since going to the NBA is drastic only because he works his ass off and plays against great competition. There is nobody in Asia who is even close to the NBA level (except for maybe Yi and Sun when they sign).

If anything, I think you guys are over-rating some of your own players.

I am not saying Filipino players are the best in Asia..what I am saying is if was not 7'5", he would not look as good. the same as Shaq if he was 6'4". there are a LOT of ASIAN players with more skills or as par as Yao before. I believe they were over shadowed because of his height.

[rikhardur]

what I am saying is if was not 7'5", he would not look as good.
It's actually the other way around. It's very rare for a tall player to be as good as Yao is.

[sickcurtain_16]

i think he is over rated..why???he is asia's best right now because he recieved training when he enterd the NBA. But when he was still in Asia, his skills can be matched by smaller centers in Asia. he looked very good and unstopable because he is 7'5" tall..imagine make Yao shorter like 6'9"? will he still look that good back then before his NBA days?
If Yao is shorter, then he'll become faster. He might still be the best there is.

[jxuusa]

Hey Bestkept, I didn't know you were gay. I though we were talking about the skills of a player rather than checking out how they looked.

Do please then, name some asian players that ESPN would have picked for a feature article, provided that Yao did not exist. And seriously, please expand your list beyond just Filipino players...

[onono1]

Hahahaha, no reason to start a thread war again about yao ming because someone sees a very familiar country flag below somebody's username who just wanted to provoke a heated reply and turns it into nonsense argument again :rolleyes: just say this "Yao ming is the best player in asia and among in the NBA no doubt"....

[ballerwannabe]

no way is yao overated, if anything i'd say he is underated. Why? Well, take into account that he is 7-5, 305lb and practically does all the dirty work under Van Gundy's 'rein of chaos', he still finds a way to score 20+ pts 9-10 rbs each game.

Not saying the man doesn't have weaknesses because he does, just pointing out that you prob won't see another dominating 7-5 big man in the next 40-50 years...

[jxuusa]

no way is yao overated, if anything i'd say he is underated. Why? Well, take into account that he is 7-5, 305lb and practically does all the dirty work under Van Gundy's 'rein of chaos', he still finds a way to score 20+ pts 9-10 rbs each game.

Not saying the man doesn't have weaknesses because he does, just pointing out that you prob won't see another dominating 7-5 big man in the next 40-50 years...

Not from China anyways. The difference between him and the upcoming kids who are extremely tall is that Yao is build properly. He has like tree trunks for legs and he is frail and stuff, whereas the younger 7-footers in China like Zheng or something are like 7-0 and barely scratching 200 pounds. Plus like you noted man, Yao is the definition of dedication and hard work literally, and when you look at the CNT, there is nobody who shares that feeling, or rather you get a sense of lacklusterness and just plain not caring when you watch the CNT play (the veterns who are starters like Liu Wei, Wang Zhizhi), even Yi doesn't show the same passion as Yao. Yao is probably going to be the peak of Asia basketball.

[bestkept]

Hey Bestkept, I didn't know you were gay. I though we were talking about the skills of a player rather than checking out how they looked.

Do please then, name some asian players that ESPN would have picked for a feature article, provided that Yao did not exist. And seriously, please expand your list beyond just Filipino players...


allright...i would say if he was as tall as Koreans, Lebanese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Kazaks and other asians with the same skills, he would not be as dominant. because they can guard him. why are you getting angry with opinion of other people..if you think Filipino ballers suck, fine..

[saints13]

Yao's skills compliments his height, therefore he's good, and was better than expected :)

[jiku]

Yao is not overrated, he is really good and he can be even better. Yi is overrated but thats another whole story :)
hei, you can not say Yi is overrated since Yi has not been rated. In fact, in the recent games against European teams, he showed his potential in the front of some famous NBA players.
Yao's biggest weakness is his rhythm is different from the other teammates. At this point, he is overrated since he can not make his NBA team much better. It's a tradeoff to select Yao as your team player.
But in Asia, Yao is so dominant that his weakness can be ignored.

[rycorpz]

Common guys no question about it Yao is not an over rated player he's on the top 3 best centers in the NBA arguably in the world its just that Houston can't make to elevate their game in the playoffs ( which i think Van Gundy is the culprit for the houston's peformance ) He just need a good system team to suits his skill and prowess. He'll give Tim Duncan and spurs to run for their money

[CHINA TEAM]

Most videos of YAO are he in NBA,this video is his play in FIBA(team china) and CBA~

PS:in 02：45s YAO “NO LOOK PASS” to “terrorist ”（no12 Mo ke）

04：41s is he pick New Zealand member up and throw him~So inetersting:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku1boWqQtns

Ku1boWqQtns

http://www.yznews.com.cn/images/20040415/pic_6052.jpg

[joel23]

Not overrated at all imo, in fact I really can't understand why some say so.

haha so funny :D

[rikhardur]

haha so funny :D
Could you elaborate on that?

[sbandda]

Yao is one of the best Centers in the NBA if not the best of them. His main downside so far were his (unlucky) injuries. I truly believe that once he'll be able to complete an injury-less season he'll dominate the stat sheet as well as the other teams.
I am not familiar with Asian BB, but Yao is in no way overrated at the moment.

[joel23]

4RKpnAkmE9o

Yao is really not good, good baller or overated one?

kt5pOPn_0Ik

[thugpinoy]

A good baller.. using his strenght into the game.. giving justice to the word " height is might "

[guywhoneverspeaks]

He is the best center internationally. I can only think of one other player with the same combination of height, skill and strength that Yao has. That player is Arvydas Sabonis.

[rikhardur]

He is the best center internationally. I can only think of one other player with the same combination of height, skill and strength that Yao has. That player is Arvydas Sabonis.
Still Sabonis was far more superior than him. May Yao score 3-pointers and assist on a regular basis and then we can talk :p

[guywhoneverspeaks]

Still Sabonis was far more superior than him. May Yao score 3-pointers and assist on a regular basis and then we can talk :p

It's too early to compare Yao to Sabonis. Sabonis is retired, while Yao is yet to enter his prime.

Yao has three-point range and excellent passing ability (as seen during his CBA career and observed by draft scouts), but unfortunately he hasn't been allowed much use of these skills in his NBA career.

[L3Xm0n3y]

YAO is deff a baller... his only weakness is his stamina as of now. The man can flat out ball and is a top 5 Center. There's only a handful of players let alone centers who can put up moster games like he does... u know 7+ block games with 15+ boards... games like that,... Look for yao to start in the all star game for the next decade...Fantasy wise he's a beast too.

[Vasileios Spanoulis]

1. He's the best center on the planet.

2. How can he be overrated being that he's the best center on the planet?

3. Why does everyone keep saying he's 7-5? I thought he was 7-6, at least that's how it says here:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/yao_ming/

7-6 310


Anyway, I can't even imagine how dominant Yao would be in Euroleague. It's a frightening thought really. Or how dominant the Chinese National Team would be if they actually had some decent guards because he's way more dominant than Dirk or Pau are if he gets just a little help from his guards.

As for Yao playing in China............didn't he average something like 32 points and 20 rebounds at like age 21 or something? I think he was like 21/22 from the field in the championship game or something.

Damn, he'd probably average like 50 and 30 now if he played in the CBA.

[ArkadiosV2]

Pffff... Duenas would crash Yao like a bug!

[rikhardur]

Pffff... Duenas would crash Yao like a bug!
:D Well just that, Yao would beat him in all aspects of the game.

[mvblair]

I'm getting into this conversation late, but I want to go on record. I watched Yao in his 3rd game in the US, at the 2002 World Basketball Championships. He played well then, but was certainly not dominant. Now Yao is the best, maybe second best (I consider Duncan a center) center in the NBA. Yao is a beast and not just because he's tall -- the man has real skills. Have you ever seen somebody with a better baseline jumper?

--Matt

[ArkadiosV2]

Dunno if he is overrated or not but he will be fined $30 000 after he announced that he will miss Houston Rockets training for 4 days.

[sinobball]

Dunno if he is overrated or not but he will be fined $30 000 after he announced that he will miss Houston Rockets training for 4 days.
Just to clarify it has nothing to do with his national team duty. Yao Ming wants to attend a Special Olympics opening ceremony in Shanghai, as he is a global ambassador for Special Olympics.

Not too many people know this, but Yao is handicapped himself. His left ear is 95% deaf.

[mvblair]

Just to clarify it has nothing to do with his national team duty. Yao Ming wants to attend a Special Olympics opening ceremony in Shanghai, as he is a global ambassador for Special Olympics.

Not too many people know this, but Yao is handicapped himself. His left ear is 95% deaf.
But the Rockets even said that it was OK for him to miss. They said something like "we understand Yao's obligations to charity. We simply fine everybody in this position and there are no bad feelings."

[rikhardur]

But the Rockets even said that it was OK for him to miss. They said something like "we understand Yao's obligations to charity. We simply fine everybody in this position and there are no bad feelings."
That's what I heard as well.

[Phantim3dx]

Just to clarify it has nothing to do with his national team duty. Yao Ming wants to attend a Special Olympics opening ceremony in Shanghai, as he is a global ambassador for Special Olympics.

Not too many people know this, but Yao is handicapped himself. His left ear is 95% deaf.



did not know this, thangs for the new info. is this why vangundy never parked him down low on the low left post trying to catch lob passes from skip to my lou alston?

[OSCAR_SCHMIDT]

Although I had never seen the videos mentioned above and I have to admit that his reactions were at least funny, we should not forget the education issue. His coaches started teaching him the fundamentals at the age of 20-21. At the same time high-school and college players learn these things much earlier. I don't know the exact level of the coaching stuff in China but I guess that it is not that high, at least at the time Yao used to play there. If this guy was a N.Y citizen he would already be a legend, after all he is only 26 and already considered as a starting-five player with great contribution to his team. I think all of us have seen players worst than him picked up in No 1...

[Alyssa Alano]

yao is good!

[warren99]

Survey: Yao Ming is included in the inaugural BusinessWeek "Power 100" ranking of the most powerful sports figures. Yao ranks at No. 89.

http://www.businessweek.com/table/07/0926_power100.htm

[ballerwannabe]

we should not forget the education issue. His coaches started teaching him the fundamentals at the age of 20-21

um... where did you get this idea from?? I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that 'prospective' tall basketbal kids in china are sent to athletes schools where they are taught fundamentals

[sinobball]

...we should not forget the education issue. His coaches started teaching him the fundamentals at the age of 20-21. At the same time high-school and college players learn these things much earlier. I don't know the exact level of the coaching stuff in China but I guess that it is not that high, at least at the time Yao used to play there. If this guy was a N.Y citizen he would already be a legend, after all he is only 26 and already considered as a starting-five player with great contribution to his team.
Yao was sent to sports schools as an early teenagers where he was taught fundamentals. He started CBA in 97-98 season and the next season he was named the most improved player, after spending the summer of 1998 in the US of A (Nike All-America Camp and Nike National AAU Showcase with "High Five America").

Yao was very much fundamentally sound when he was drafted, in fact, if he were born in NYC, chances are he will not be as fundamentally sound. (google "Shagari Alleyne" a NYC native with probably as much physical attributes, for example). While I agree Chinese coaches/level of competition suck when it comes to guards, China does produce very good big men, and it's no coincidence.

[joel23]

Although I had never seen the videos mentioned above and I have to admit that his reactions were at least funny, we should not forget the education issue. His coaches started teaching him the fundamentals at the age of 20-21. At the same time high-school and college players learn these things much earlier. I don't know the exact level of the coaching stuff in China but I guess that it is not that high, at least at the time Yao used to play there. If this guy was a N.Y citizen he would already be a legend, after all he is only 26 and already considered as a starting-five player with great contribution to his team. I think all of us have seen players worst than him picked up in No 1...

Coach Rudy Tomanovich needed bigman for Rockets therefore he picked Yao as no.1. He thought he'd potential moves but after his game he was disappointed on him. He was scored score-less in opening game. And then after the season he had planed to stepdown as coach. That's kind of worst thing about performance in the NBA. He's considered the worst no.1 pick player ever in the NBA draft. The coaching staff in China are not bad level. Like our Philippine coaches are most of very politics and different making non-sense system. Yao will be older for the next 2 years in Olympics. His foot movement are weak. He had more injuries many games in the NBA. He won't be longer for playing basketball.

[LeroyC33]

If you are Chinese, there really is no use in paying attention to a player like Yao Ming. I say that it is better to return to your own life, rather than to pay too much attention to basketball, especially if you are not a professional. and to pay attention to trivial things like sports. Better to pay attention to your ownlife and your family, than to strong athletic guys thousands of miles away from where you live who are not even in your own life living out their lives. In my opinion, it is better to pour forth your time and attention into your own life rather than to pay too much attention to Yao Ming or even Yi Jianlian, to become his fan, to idolize him above other ordinary people, or even to pay attention to his accomplishments on the basketball court or to glorify him or to worship him as a god. I think that that is not only not right, but is very unwise and foolish as well. I say this as a Chinese-American, though with more support for China--at least as an equal to America and also with more support for the Chinese people as an equal to other races of people--than most other Asian-Americans living here in the USA, as I have noticed during my life here. And here is the reason why I say what I say:

Yao Ming. I still think that he is one the players in the NBA who has the most potential. I say this because of all the racist fouls against him trying to prevent him from going from a good player to a great player because he is Chinese, because of all the things that have been happening on the news about China lately. It is like affirmative action in reverse. Players are routinely allowed to foul and hack him with no fouls called on them when they are playing defense on him, as evidenced by the replays, or allowed to engage in illegal defense, like having no 3-second call called on them whenever they front and back him on defense, and then when Yao Ming does that, he immediately has a defensive 3-second call called on him. And whenever he plays offense, the referees sometimes either call a very questionable light offensive foul, another very questionable offensive 3-second violation which strangely enough is not called on any player but him, or a questionable travel call on him forcing a turnover. This would not happen with any other player in the NBA. He is the most hated man in the NBA solely because of his race. Everybody hates him because he is Chinese. The League does not want him to succeed and they are holding him down. They have changed his game. It is pitiful to see a 7 and 1/2 footer reduced to an immobile standing tree standing there in the lane with both of his hands up trying to block a shot while desperately trying to avoid a foul and not challenging the shot actively, and offensive players knowing that they can shoot freely over him because the referees won't let Yao Ming try to block the shot. And the tactic doesn't work anyway, he still gets the foul called on him, even when the replay shows that he did not or barely even touched the player. I have even noticed instances where Yao Ming makes a block, and they do not even count it in the box score. (!!!) Yes, if you’re wondering, I did actually carefully count and tally in my head the total number of blocks Yao Ming has had in games while watching Houston Rockets games. I did this for at least 3 games while watching Yao Ming play in Houston Rockets games, once I noticed this trend of not counting the full number of blocks that he made during a game and is due by accident during one game. I personally counted at least 3 games where they did not the full number of blocks that Yao Ming made during a game, and then I gave up counting after 3 once I understood that it was a trend, and realized that they were probably doing it deliberately, and that it was not just a random accident, or my imagination. And meanwhile another good center like Dwight Howard gets around 20 foul shots a game. I am not saying that Dwight Howard does not deserve all of those foul shots, but it is obvious from replays that Yao Ming deserves more foul shots and less offensive fouls and turnover calls, but that the referees are extra hard or strict on him trying to either make him a scapegoat for China, or deliberately keeping him down because he is Chinese and he breaks the mold of Chinese inferiority. Both of his coaches--both his former one, Jeff Van Gundy, and his present one, Rick Adelman, have already acknowledged the situation and complained about it to the NBA's front office, but the League won't change it, because they want it to remain that way, and the problems are racist in nature. *The better he gets, the more his star rises, and the better he does in the NBA, the harsher the referees come down on him year after year and the more they cheat against him, and the more amoral and unethical they become, and the worse the things they do to him, like call more false fouls on him and the more fouls they allow against him and do not call it to prevent him from becoming a great player.*

Politics does not deserve any place in sports, and players should not be the victims of bias or prejudice no matter what nationality or country they come from, and no matter from what place around the world. If you invited them into your domestic sports league to play, then you should give them a fair shot, and allow them an equal chance to succeed like anyone else. Dwight Howard may very well be the better center--it would have been quite a challenge to see who is really the better center in the NBA over the years, as Yao Ming has been for the last 2 or 3 years, but we will never really know now because of the prejudiced and very biased officiating against Yao Ming. Any star player playing against him tends to get the calls called their way instead of in Yao Ming's favor, regardless of the truth, and what's right. This prejudiced and biased officiating against Yao Ming tends to lower all of his stats and increase his turnover rate as a player in the NBA, and prevents Yao Ming from reaching his full potential as a player. Because of his defensive liability in drawing false fouls, he has become a defensive liability to his own team. Even his own teammates sometimes freeze him out of the ball and refuse to pass to him when he is obviously open. This would never happen to any other player of any other nationality, such as Shaquille O' Neal or Chris Kaman. If Yao Ming were given a level and equal playing field, he might very well be an MVP candidate almost every single year, but I guess the League knows that, which is why they work so hard to keep him down, to prevent a Chinese player from winning the American National Basketball League's MVP. That would ruin everything for them, and ruin their justification for oppressing Chinese people by pretending they are inferior to them and that that gives them reason to oppress Asians. There is even a video I have seen on the Internet of Yi Jian Lian when he was playing against the Dallas Mavericks earlier this year in the NBA season, where he is going up for a layup on the left side of the basket, and then he is blatantly fouled by Dallas's Juwan Howard who does not even try to make a play on the ball, but just openly grabs his right arm, and drags him down, and prevents him from taking the shot properly and making the shot. Juwan Howard did not even go for the ball, he did not even try to play defense, and he just tried to foul Yi instead and pick up the foul, and so dragged his arm down, preventing Yi from taking a proper shot. But the baseline referee refused to call the foul, and Yi Jian Lian was screaming at the referee because it was obvious the referee saw the foul but he refused to call the foul. The foul was so blatantly obvious that everyone saw it, including everyone in the audience, and no one missed it, because Juwan Howard did not even go after the ball, he just tried to foul Yi instead and pick up the foul to prevent the score, and yet the referee refused to call anything. I'm sure some of you might have seen this foul in the Milwaukee Bucks-Dallas Mavericks game when it was broadcast on TV. And come on, do you mean the baseline refereee, who was standing right there, did not see the foul? Of course not, he saw the foul, he just did not call the foul on purpose, to prevent Yi from getting more points, that's all, and that's obviously because he was prejudiced against Chinese players. It is obvious to anyone who has any sort of understanding at all when they see blatantly wrong situations like this, what is going on with Chinese players in the NBA. The NBA is prejudiced against them, and won't let them succeed, and won't give them a fair chance to become successful regardless of how good or not good they are. I estimate that Yao Ming is still only playing to 3/4 of his full potential. I guess the saying is true for the Chinese player in America versus the American player in America...home cooking really does taste better. I have also noticed this trend watching the FIBA referees while watching games at the World Championships of Basketball, where most of the referees are White, (American and European), and Latin, whose races are legendary for being racist against Asians, particularly against Chinese people, and FIBA itself is ruled by Europeans, whom we as Chinese all know, have a racist history against Chinese, do not consider them equal to them, still consider them inferior, and will not let them achieve equality to them to this day. And so what fair and equal treatment can you expect from them even in the NBA? Well, the truth had to come out sometime. As the old saying goes, "...what you whisper in back rooms will be shouted from the rooftops...". As the legendary P.T. Barnum once said, “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” Yao Ming will probably go down in history as the best player in NBA basketball history who ever played the game who was NOT ALLOWED to be great because it is run by prejudiced people against Chinese people, and I think that that is true for the Chinese National Team in the FIBA World Championships of Basketball and the Olympic Games in Basketball as well.

That is why I think that it is foolish to pay attention to the lives of Chinese athletes like Yao Ming or Yi Jianlian living in the West, even if you are Chinese person and why it is unwise to glorify them or to idolize them, put your faith and hope and strength in them rather than your own self. Certainly I think that it is unwise to idolize them and to worship them as if they are Confucious, (Master Kung) or Lao-Tzu, (Li Erh). I think that it is better to return to normal life, and to pay attention to your own life, such as taking care of your own family and social life and even your spiritual life, than to pay attention to Yao Ming, or to these other Chinese athletes. It is pretty obvious as a Chinese person, having been born here and growing up here in the West, that they will NOT BE ALLOWED to succeed in the West, no matter how good they are. Western people are prejudiced against them, and will not let them succeed, and even if they do succeed, will only hate them and resent them for it, and badmouth and slander them, saying that they are worse than they really are in order to still believe or at least promote or maintain the belief that they are inferior to them. That is why it is a good idea not to ever argue about Chinese athletes with other posters of other nationalities or races on basketball forums like this, because they will never admit the truth. They will just keep on deliberately posting false lies and slander while really knowing the actual truth, and never admitting the truth, because if they admitted the truth about Chinese athletes, they would be forced to face the admit the truth that Chinese people aren't inferior to anyone else, but are in fact equal to everyone else, which they don't want to admit and will not admit. Western people will never allow Chinese athletes to succeed or get to the top in the West unless it benefits themselves. That is how little they think of Chinese people. So, to all of the Chinese fans in this forum, I sincerely hope that you put more time, effort, and energy, into your own life, and have more hope in your life, and more faith in yourself, and more love for other people besides just Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, than in just watching Yao Ming's life or Yi Jianlian's life, or the efforts and accomplishments of the Chinese National Team. They cannot do anything for you, only you yourself can do it yourself.

I am sorry if I offended anyone with my post, I did not mean to offend anyone here, I just wanted to Enlighten the Chinese fans posting here on this forum a little.

[Afraid]

i didnt read all yor post, just the begining, but i think not only yao faces this in nba, i remember Sabonis, saying that Shaq can stay for 8 seconds near the basket, while you can 2. you must get used to this

[LeroyC33]

Here is more proof of what I am saying. This article is from the sports section of the Houston Chronicle, the official newspaper of the city of Houston, where as all of you probably already know, Yao Ming plays for the Rockets.

And remember, this is not the first time a coach of his has complained about the unfair and unequal officiating against Yao Ming. Yao Ming's former coach, Jeff Van Gundy, also did this, and was fined $100,000 for speaking out against the unfair and unequal officiating against Yao Ming, so therefore, I doubt that this is just my imagination or that I am wrong:

Dec. 3, 2007, 9:31PM
Rockets press issue on fouls for Yao

By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Head coach Rick Adelman said the Rockets registered their complaints with the NBA office over the treatment of Yao Ming in the Sacramento game.

Yao fouled out and was given a technical foul after his sixth personal.

"We're always doing that," Adelman said. "(Yao) got frustrated. It seemed like the calls he got, the big guys are at a disadvantage. They don't want to give them calls."

I think he was really frustrated when Brad Miller ran over him. He stepped in front of him. It wasn't that he got a foul call. There was no call.

"The official said, 'I didn't think there was enough contact.' That's really not a great explanation. Sometimes they call them with no contact. Here's a 7-footer and a 7-6 guy, they fell down, a collision. I said, 'If you want to call a foul on him, fine. But don't just say it's nothing.' I think that's what Yao was really frustrated with. Then from what I saw, he didn't hardly touch the guy when they fouled him out. He has a right to get a little frustrated sometimes."

[hotjam_2]

Geeeezzzzzzzz
The only racist is yourself.
Yao's well loved here in the states. He signed multi advertisement endorsements, I believe second only to Tiger Woods. He's rated as possibly the best center in the NBA. And thats depsite not having a outside shot. Jin Lin Yan is having a good rookie season, but right now he's not all-star material. Otherwise, the rest of the Chinese National team players are'nt all that good. They're played poorly in their recent Euro tour and at the Summer games here in the states. They only managed 9th place at the Asian championships. Hopefully they're 18 year old guard, Chen, will improve by next year, otherwise the rest of the guards on the national team are a bit slow.

As for your other racist remarks; maybe your experience in America has'nt been all that great, but Chinese have a higher standard of living and education here, than even(gulp) white people. And I'm sorry if we don't fall head of heels for everything Chinese , but you'll find that American's eat chinese more than any other ethnic food. Director Ang Lee has won the Academy Award along with others, and despite being over the hill, Jacke Chan is a top draw with film audience's .

So unless your a top ranking communist official and prefer the old ways, your critism is unfounded. So take head from the Beattles lyrics from Revolution;

"if you keep carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, your ain't going to make anyhow"

but then again, the Beatles were 4 white dudes!

[Test]

I am sorry due to lack of time I red only first paragraph. I agree with you, some people really idolizing Yao and pay too much attention on him (not oly on him of course there are stars everywhere).
Try to look to NBA from another angle. There is basketball and there is outstanding managers who created a plan how to extract maximum amount of money from people.
Basketball is popular and there are effective moments. Lets just make more effective moments and there will be more people watching the game - automaticaly more money.
I saw many NBA games and in every game I see acting, Kobe doing 5 steps before dunk and refferee just standing and smiling "OHH WHAT A NICE DUNK!!!". In Europe people like theyr team, in USA people are going to eat food and watch some nice dunks. People think that the best player is Kobe or Carter :D People here need HEROES!!! That is league of heroes, not-basketball only. Everywhere I look - I see advertisments of some food or stuff not related to basketball. Omg Rudy Gay dunked on Scola!!! Who won that game? Who cares!
Yao is one of the greatest money making maschine - TV translations.. 200mil people watching... How many his t-shirts they bought?
If there would no YAO or YI - David Stern rather take this guy than Macijauskas, Diamantidis, or even Dirk:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Chinese_soldier_on_Tienanmen_Square.jpg/180px-Chinese_soldier_on_Tienanmen_Square.jpg
Why ? Cause more people will watch this guy rather than Dirk Nowitzki or Pau gasol!
People bring money - China make people

Most of those people are teenagers and they want to be like theyr idols - thats how the world spins. Of course family and ownlife is more important, but teenagers just don't understand it yet

[LeroyC33]

Geeeezzzzzzzz
The only racist is yourself.
Yao's well loved here in the states. He signed multi advertisement endorsements, I believe second only to Tiger Woods. He's rated as possibly the best center in the NBA. And thats depsite not having a outside shot. Jin Lin Yan is having a good rookie season, but right now he's not all-star material. Otherwise, the rest of the Chinese National team players are'nt all that good. They're played poorly in their recent Euro tour and at the Summer games here in the states. They only managed 9th place at the Asian championships. Hopefully they're 18 year old guard, Chen, will improve by next year, otherwise the rest of the guards on the national team are a bit slow.

As for your other racist remarks; maybe your experience in America has'nt been all that great, but Chinese have a higher standard of living and education here, than even(gulp) white people. And I'm sorry if we don't fall head of heels for everything Chinese , but you'll find that American's eat chinese more than any other ethnic food. Director Ang Lee has won the Academy Award along with others, and despite being over the hill, Jacke Chan is a top draw with film audience's .

So unless your a top ranking communist official and prefer the old ways, your critism is unfounded. So take head from the Beattles lyrics from Revolution;

"if you keep carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, your ain't going to make anyhow"

but then again, the Beatles were 4 white dudes!

Forgive me, hotjam_2, but that's all just surface appearances. Everything seems good, well, and right all right, but only on the surface.

Are you a Chinese person yourself or maybe another Chinese American?

[mvblair]

Thanks for writing a well-thought essay here, Leroy. You put a lot of thought into it, and it was interesting to read.
If you are Chinese, there really is no use in paying attention to a player like Yao Ming. I say that it is better to return to your own life, rather than to pay too much attention to basketball, especially if you are not a professional. and to pay attention to trivial things like sports. Better to pay attention to your ownlife and your family, than to strong athletic guys thousands of miles away from where you live who are not even in your own life living out their lives. In my opinion, it is better to pour forth your time and attention into your own life rather than to pay too much attention to Yao Ming or even Yi Jianlian, to become his fan, to idolize him above other ordinary people, or even to pay attention to his accomplishments on the basketball court or to glorify him or to worship him as a god. I think that that is not only not right, but is very unwise and foolish as well. I say this as a Chinese-American, though with more support for China--at least as an equal to America and also with more support for the Chinese people as an equal to other races of people--than most other Asian-Americans living here in the USA, as I have noticed during my life here. I agree that people should not put too much energy into "worshiping" any professional sports figure or team. Obviously there are more important things in life: family, friends, politics, church, etcetera. But sports is a fun diversion for a lot of people who just need to flop down on the coach and relax.

Yao Ming. I still think that he is one the players in the NBA who has the most potential. I say this because of all the racist fouls against him trying to prevent him from going from a good player to a great player because he is Chinese, because of all the things that have been happening on the news about China lately. It is like affirmative action in reverse. Players are routinely allowed to foul and hack him with no fouls called on them when they are playing defense on him, as evidenced by the replays, or allowed to engage in illegal defense, like having no 3-second call called on them whenever they front and back him on defense, and then when Yao Ming does that, he immediately has a defensive 3-second call called on him. And whenever he plays offense, the referees sometimes either call a very questionable light offensive foul, another very questionable offensive 3-second violation which strangely enough is not called on any player but him, or a questionable travel call on him forcing a turnover. This would not happen with any other player in the NBA. He is the most hated man in the NBA solely because of his race. Everybody hates him because he is Chinese. The League does not want him to succeed and they are holding him down. They have changed his game. It is pitiful to see a 7 and 1/2 footer reduced to an immobile standing tree standing there in the lane with both of his hands up trying to block a shot while desperately trying to avoid a foul and not challenging the shot actively, and offensive players knowing that they can shoot freely over him because the referees won't let Yao Ming try to block the shot. And the tactic doesn't work anyway, he still gets the foul called on him, even when the replay shows that he did not or barely even touched the player. I have even noticed instances where Yao Ming makes a block, and they do not even count it in the box score. (!!!) Yes, if you’re wondering, I did actually carefully count and tally in my head the total number of blocks Yao Ming has had in games while watching Houston Rockets games. I did this for at least 3 games while watching Yao Ming play in Houston Rockets games, once I noticed this trend of not counting the full number of blocks that he made during a game and is due by accident during one game. I personally counted at least 3 games where they did not the full number of blocks that Yao Ming made during a game, and then I gave up counting after 3 once I understood that it was a trend, and realized that they were probably doing it deliberately, and that it was not just a random accident, or my imagination. And meanwhile another good center like Dwight Howard gets around 20 foul shots a game. I am not saying that Dwight Howard does not deserve all of those foul shots, but it is obvious from replays that Yao Ming deserves more foul shots and less offensive fouls and turnover calls, but that the referees are extra hard or strict on him trying to either make him a scapegoat for China, or deliberately keeping him down because he is Chinese and he breaks the mold of Chinese inferiority. Both of his coaches--both his former one, Jeff Van Gundy, and his present one, Rick Adelman, have already acknowledged the situation and complained about it to the NBA's front office, but the League won't change it, because they want it to remain that way, and the problems are racist in nature. *The better he gets, the more his star rises, and the better he does in the NBA, the harsher the referees come down on him year after year and the more they cheat against him, and the more amoral and unethical they become, and the worse the things they do to him, like call more false fouls on him and the more fouls they allow against him and do not call it to prevent him from becoming a great player.* You are correct that referees do a lousy, horrible job refereeing Yao. I don't think it's exactly racism though. I think that referees spend so much time on the court observing, watching, and scrutinizing his every move because he is impossible not to look at: the man changes everything when he is on the court, sucking defenders toward him even when he doesn't have the ball. The effect is that the entire game, whether he's on defense or offense, rotates around Yao.

Politics does not deserve any place in sports, and players should not be the victims of bias or prejudice no matter what nationality or country they come from, and no matter from what place around the world. If you invited them into your domestic sports league to play, then you should give them a fair shot, and allow them an equal chance to succeed like anyone else. Dwight Howard may very well be the better center--it would have been quite a challenge to see who is really the better center in the NBA over the years, as Yao Ming has been for the last 2 or 3 years, but we will never really know now because of the prejudiced and very biased officiating against Yao Ming. Any star player playing against him tends to get the calls called their way instead of in Yao Ming's favor, regardless of the truth, and what's right. This prejudiced and biased officiating against Yao Ming tends to lower all of his stats and increase his turnover rate as a player in the NBA, and prevents Yao Ming from reaching his full potential as a player. Because of his defensive liability in drawing false fouls, he has become a defensive liability to his own team. Even his own teammates sometimes freeze him out of the ball and refuse to pass to him when he is obviously open. This would never happen to any other player of any other nationality, such as Shaquille O' Neal or Chris Kaman. Well, remember that five or six years ago when Shaq was at his best, he used to say the same things, and certainly Phil Jackson and the TV commentators would always talk about how unfair it is the way they ref Shaq. And TV commentators here in the US say the same thing this season about our man Yao.

If Yao Ming were given a level and equal playing field, he might very well be an MVP candidate almost every single year, but I guess the League knows that, which is why they work so hard to keep him down, to prevent a Chinese player from winning the American National Basketball League's MVP. That would ruin everything for them, and ruin their justification for oppressing Chinese people by pretending they are inferior to them and that that gives them reason to oppress Asians. There is even a video I have seen on the Internet of Yi Jian Lian when he was playing against the Dallas Mavericks earlier this year in the NBA season, where he is going up for a layup on the left side of the basket, and then he is blatantly fouled by Dallas's Juwan Howard who does not even try to make a play on the ball, but just openly grabs his right arm, and drags him down, and prevents him from taking the shot properly and making the shot. Juwan Howard did not even go for the ball, he did not even try to play defense, and he just tried to foul Yi instead and pick up the foul, and so dragged his arm down, preventing Yi from taking a proper shot. But the baseline referee refused to call the foul, and Yi Jian Lian was screaming at the referee because it was obvious the referee saw the foul but he refused to call the foul. The foul was so blatantly obvious that everyone saw it, including everyone in the audience, and no one missed it, because Juwan Howard did not even go after the ball, he just tried to foul Yi instead and pick up the foul to prevent the score, and yet the referee refused to call anything. I'm sure some of you might have seen this foul in the Milwaukee Bucks-Dallas Mavericks game when it was broadcast on TV. And come on, do you mean the baseline refereee, who was standing right there, did not see the foul? Of course not, he saw the foul, he just did not call the foul on purpose, to prevent Yi from getting more points, that's all, and that's obviously because he was prejudiced against Chinese players. Unfortunately, stuff like that happens all the time in the NBA. I don't think it just happens to Chinese players.

It is obvious to anyone who has any sort of understanding at all when they see blatantly wrong situations like this, what is going on with Chinese players in the NBA. The NBA is prejudiced against them, and won't let them succeed, and won't give them a fair chance to become successful regardless of how good or not good they are. I estimate that Yao Ming is still only playing to 3/4 of his full potential. I guess the saying is true for the Chinese player in America versus the American player in America...home cooking really does taste better. But there are plenty of successful foreign-born players in the NBA: for the past three years, the MVP Award was won by foreign-born players who compete for countries other than the US.

I have also noticed this trend watching the FIBA referees while watching games at the World Championships of Basketball, where most of the referees are White, (American and European), and Latin, whose races are legendary for being racist against Asians, particularly against Chinese people, and FIBA itself is ruled by Europeans, whom we as Chinese all know, have a racist history against Chinese, do not consider them equal to them, still consider them inferior, and will not let them achieve equality to them to this day. Well, practically every group of people in the world has had racist actions against any other group of people.

It is pretty obvious as a Chinese person, having been born here and growing up here in the West, that they will NOT BE ALLOWED to succeed in the West, no matter how good they are. Western people are prejudiced against them, and will not let them succeed, and even if they do succeed, will only hate them and resent them for it, and badmouth and slander them, saying that they are worse than they really are in order to still believe or at least promote or maintain the belief that they are inferior to them. Now, you know that not all Western peopple are prejudiced against Chinese people, right?
Western people will never allow Chinese athletes to succeed or get to the top in the West unless it benefits themselves. But if you ask me, most Americans will admit that Yao is, hands down, the best center in the NBA.

Leroy, the assumption that you're making is that Yao is being limited because he is Chinese. I think that's a false assumption. He's limited because he is the "center" of the basketball court and everything revolves around him, so referees are always staring at him, defenders are always being sucked toward him, and his teammates are able to operate because their defenders are gone.

[sergio23]

Geeeezzzzzzzz
The only racist is yourself.
Yao's well loved here in the states. He signed multi advertisement endorsements, I believe second only to Tiger Woods. He's rated as possibly the best center in the NBA. And thats depsite not having a outside shot. Jin Lin Yan is having a good rookie season, but right now he's not all-star material. Otherwise, the rest of the Chinese National team players are'nt all that good. They're played poorly in their recent Euro tour and at the Summer games here in the states. They only managed 9th place at the Asian championships. Hopefully they're 18 year old guard, Chen, will improve by next year, otherwise the rest of the guards on the national team are a bit slow.

As for your other racist remarks; maybe your experience in America has'nt been all that great, but Chinese have a higher standard of living and education here, than even(gulp) white people. And I'm sorry if we don't fall head of heels for everything Chinese , but you'll find that American's eat chinese more than any other ethnic food. Director Ang Lee has won the Academy Award along with others, and despite being over the hill, Jacke Chan is a top draw with film audience's .

So unless your a top ranking communist official and prefer the old ways, your critism is unfounded. So take head from the Beattles lyrics from Revolution;

"if you keep carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, your ain't going to make anyhow"

but then again, the Beatles were 4 white dudes!

Because you are American..that is an american opinion, China finished 10th I think in Asian Champ, Philippines got the 9th..

[Phantim3dx]

where the heck does the 9th and 10th place finish fit with this current topic. :confused:

the person who started this thread definitely makes some good points, especially the unfair officiating on Yao, but to fully assume/accuse that westerners are ALL prejudice(especially Americans oy vey...) in itself is an inward ignorant comment. so long as people will live int his world there'll always be some forms of prejudice/racism towards others.

as a perosn living in your ancestral homeland, currently China, I am thankful I look Asian because I am not stared as much, but when I speak Chinese to the locals they know im not from around and immediately think I am from Western China, Xinjiang Province to be exact...Going off topic here, don't tell me that those people in Western China(Xinjiang）aren't looked down upon or viewed w/ some form of prejudice because it happens.

Going a bit more towards basketball related topic, do you think a bunch of us Westerns who play bball here in Beijing are happy that the Chinese players immediately cry foul on the slightest touch or calls that are so damn questionable we can only begin to wonder how it even was a foul. I've learned to deal with it when I play ball here, but that doesn't stop me from playing. Every country and every part of this world always has some form of bias towards others, that is reality. I remembered I played in a summer league here and one of the teams was sponsored by some big company (I won't say but the son of the owner played on that team) heck i took according to the people watching the game over 3 charging fouls, BLATANT) and the refs didnt even bother calling them, I complained definitely saying "fangui shifu"(foul ref, foul). My example here is although this was jsut some local summer bball league, it happens everywhere. Heck I even got a tech after I finally said to one of the refs something about "guanxi fees" ("friendship"/bribery fees..dont deny them to the asians who post in these boards is so f*ckin part of Asian culture its not even funny).

I wouldn't say I idolize Yao, although some people in yaomingmania bbs do, I will support him b/c he is the most influential Asian athlete in the world past and present. Rome wasn't built in one day, and if Asians in general want to strive forward you have to hti a few bumps on the road, even if they are ones that you have no choice but to go fwd. I'd like to believe in the future it will be much better. My view on this is Jackie Robinson got a lot of crap in baseball as the first black person to play in the Majors; Sabonis (id like to think it was him) being the first well known person from Euroland to step stateside helped a lot in promoting and showing more spotlight in Euroland of their bball potential.

Couple mroe sentences. what MVBlair stated about Yao sucking in all the attention from the refs I do tend to agree, a guy that big most people would stare and keep an eye on just because it's so unusual.

[donmar]

This is a stupid thread!... its just like calling George Mikan a racist just because he fouled Bill Russell fifty years ago :D:D:D:D ...

Everybody loves Yao Ming... in the NBA you have to play rough and tough... for a guy with a great potential... of course other players will make sure he didn't get them off guard... and the only way to stop him is to play hard against him... that's not racism... that's basketball whether you like it or not...

[Vasileios Spanoulis]

The NBA refs are blatantly biased against Yao. Anyone that denies that is a liar.

[donmar]

Geeeezzzzzzzz
The only racist is yourself.
Yao's well loved here in the states. He signed multi advertisement endorsements, I believe second only to Tiger Woods. He's rated as possibly the best center in the NBA. And thats depsite not having a outside shot. Jin Lin Yan is having a good rookie season, but right now he's not all-star material. Otherwise, the rest of the Chinese National team players are'nt all that good. They're played poorly in their recent Euro tour and at the Summer games here in the states. They only managed 9th place at the Asian championships. Hopefully they're 18 year old guard, Chen, will improve by next year, otherwise the rest of the guards on the national team are a bit slow.

As for your other racist remarks; maybe your experience in America has'nt been all that great, but Chinese have a higher standard of living and education here, than even(gulp) white people. And I'm sorry if we don't fall head of heels for everything Chinese , but you'll find that American's eat chinese more than any other ethnic food. Director Ang Lee has won the Academy Award along with others, and despite being over the hill, Jacke Chan is a top draw with film audience's .

So unless your a top ranking communist official and prefer the old ways, your critism is unfounded. So take head from the Beattles lyrics from Revolution;

"if you keep carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, your ain't going to make anyhow"

but then again, the Beatles were 4 white dudes!

Actually they finished 10th in the Asian Championship and that was the 'B Team'... the A Team (that include Yao Ming) are saving their talent for the Olympic Games next year...

[seigle42]

Here is more proof of what I am saying. This article is from the sports section of the Houston Chronicle, the official newspaper of the city of Houston, where as all of you probably already know, Yao Ming plays for the Rockets.

And remember, this is not the first time a coach of his has complained about the unfair and unequal officiating against Yao Ming. Yao Ming's former coach, Jeff Van Gundy, also did this, and was fined $100,000 for speaking out against the unfair and unequal officiating against Yao Ming, so therefore, I doubt that this is just my imagination or that I am wrong:

Dec. 3, 2007, 9:31PM
Rockets press issue on fouls for Yao

By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Head coach Rick Adelman said the Rockets registered their complaints with the NBA office over the treatment of Yao Ming in the Sacramento game.

Yao fouled out and was given a technical foul after his sixth personal.

"We're always doing that," Adelman said. "(Yao) got frustrated. It seemed like the calls he got, the big guys are at a disadvantage. They don't want to give them calls."

I think he was really frustrated when Brad Miller ran over him. He stepped in front of him. It wasn't that he got a foul call. There was no call.

"The official said, 'I didn't think there was enough contact.' That's really not a great explanation. Sometimes they call them with no contact. Here's a 7-footer and a 7-6 guy, they fell down, a collision. I said, 'If you want to call a foul on him, fine. But don't just say it's nothing.' I think that's what Yao was really frustrated with. Then from what I saw, he didn't hardly touch the guy when they fouled him out. He has a right to get a little frustrated sometimes."
many proof. the referees did clean officiate against yao

this thread is biased! No doubt for officiated referees was clean!!!

[Phantim3dx]

seigle you are either smokin or doin something because its defintiely biased officiating in whic yao is called some of the stupidest fouls

[robbe]

Before speaking about longterm biased refereeing against or favouring a certain player or team, one should think. Think, who makes profit of this, or who is not wanted to make profit.

The star bonus in the NBA for example makes sense, because it will make the star look better, heroize him, and make people buy more jerseys and switch on the television, because that guy is on the verge of putting up 60 points on the board again.

Some other things don't make sense. For example, when the Spurs won their series against the Suns last year, everyone was complaining about the refs and the league's decision to ban players (which was, needless to say, formally absolutely correct). But why the hell would the league want the Spurs, the team that is considered boring and has low TV ratings all the time (remember their finals against the Pistons?), going for the Championships again? The league doesn't profit, so it just doesn't make sense.

And I'd rather consider an alleged bias against Yao to be one of those things that don't make sense. Damn, look at what Yao has done for the NBA. Everybody is going wild about the NBA here. They all watch it. Guess whose jersey is being sold the most in China? Yao's? No! It's Tracy McGrady's! Why? Because Yao is making fans watch Rockets games, and they fall in love with McGrady's game. It's not that he's only responsable for the Yao Ming jerseys that are being sold. Think about how popular he alone has made basketball in China. Think about how much money the NBA has made with him, and how much money they will make with him in the future. China is such a big market. Politically motivated? Is this a new way of expressing political or human-rights-concerns? By unfairly treating the country's basketball players? Racistic motives? You are highlighting the "racistic history" of Europeans towards Chinese people. Can you please tell me who the Europeans have no racistic history against? Racism is everywhere unfortunately, but when I was in the states a couple of years ago, I was whitnessing hatred towards the population of Hispanic origin, but never against the Chinese.

I really think this is unsubstantiated. And when I watch the Rockets on TV, I don't really see too many bad calls or no-calls on Yao. At least I have never thought about it actually. He's no Dwayne Wade or LeBron James in terms of getting calls, nor is he the opposite.

My 2 Cents...

[Phantim3dx]

robbe i was trying to read in what you were saying, but i have to ask you if you were hitting the 白酒(chinesehard liquor thats about 60% alcohol) or smokin anything before/during the typing of your message.

no offense man but when i read it, i could only think of stoners getting stoned and talking about something and get lost but continue to talk about it ;)

[robbe]

Stay away with your Bai jiu! It's horrible! Never again.

[joel23]

An equal officiating fouls against Yao was clean wisely last several years ago. Every chinese people thinks biased referee officiating fouls against Yao. That's why because they're chinese people are allies of Yao! Yes, I saw that huge poor fouls with physically contact. He's troublesome, his opponents trying hard to attack Yao that's why he collected too many fouls. I've many watched chinese basketball games mostly of chinese ballers are whatever they have 4 fouls and lastfoul even in 1st half and their coach didn't sit in the bench. Because they're physical.