This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of World Gaming magazine.
One man has brought so much hope to a generation of people in China and other basketball loving countries in Asia. Yao Ming is the face of basketball in Asia and he has paved the way for a future generation of superstars.
Yao Ming is 29 years old, 7’6 (229cms) tall and weighs 310lbs (141.6kg). He is a mountain of a man and the tallest player in the NBA. Not only has he driven the game in Asia to new heights, his impact on the NBA as a whole is impressive. When the name Yao Ming was called out by the Houston Rockets as pick number one in the 2002 NBA Draft, he became the first international player to be selected at pick one without ever playing college basketball in the United States.
Since his debut, he has been selected to play in the Western Conference All-Star Team seven years running, and has been named in the All-NBA Team in five of those seasons. Couple this with the relative success of the Chinese national team at international and Olympic level, and it’s no surprise that Yao Ming is credited with the growth of the sport throughout Asia. The man is more than a sports star, he is a cult hero. He has numerous sponsorship deals including being one of the most recognisable faces behind the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and it has been suggested that he is one of the richest celebrity- sportsmen in China.
Unfortunately for Yao, he has been beset with injury over the past four seasons. Most of the injuries have revolved around problems with his feet. His current injury was initially considered career-threatening: a hairline fracture in his left foot, which was repaired in an operation. The good news is that Yao will be back, and possibly sooner than expected. The surgery went well and Yao might make a surprise return later this season for the Rockets.
The other Chinese player currently in the NBA, Yi Jianlian, has been proudly flying the flag for Chinese basketball fans while Yao is away. Yi has been plagued by controversy over his age, with some people in America suggesting he is older than he says he is. Yi is currently playing for the struggling New Jersey Nets, after one season with the Milwaukee Bucks. The 22 year old Yi began this season starting for the Nets, and in his first four games averaged 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in over 119 minutes of basketball.
In early November though, Yi sprained his right knee and was expected to be out for three to four weeks. The positive thing about playing for a team in a rebuilding phase is that he can expect to see plenty of game-time, where he can develop his skills and put himself in a position to become a force in the NBA. This injury is not expected to have any lasting effects and Yi should have an immediate impact again.
During his first season with Milwaukee, Yi played against Yao Ming for the first time when the Bucks played against Yao’s Houston Rockets. The game was one of the most watched ever in NBA history – over 200 million people viewed the game, which was broadcast in China. Events like this help to shape countries’ sporting cultures – Japanese baseball players playing in America, and Korean footballers playing in Europe, have also had this sort of impact. The only other place where one sporting star is having more of an impact would be boxing superstar Manny “Pacman” Pacquaio in the Philippines: he has already established himself as the country’s greatest ever sporting hero.
Another Chinese player to have recent success is Sun Yue. While no longer playing in the NBA, he was the first ethnic Chinese player to win an NBA championship ring, playing with the Los Angeles Lakers to defeat Orlando Magic in 2009. To be part of a championship winning team and be surrounded by champions such as Kobe Bryant is an experience that all basketball players dream of. This is certainly an honour he will no doubt remember for the rest of his life.
With the success of individual players and the vast improvement of Asian national basketball teams on an international level, the future for the game looks bright. This was evident during the recent FIBA Asia Championship. The standard of play was of an elite level that no one would have thought possible five years ago. While there wasn’t a “next Yao Ming” playing, there was a group of high quality hopefuls planning an assault on the NBA stage. European and South American countries continue to have an impact at the highest level of the game, but the impact that Asia has had in a very short time is even more impressive.
With the success of the current crop of Chinese basketball players plying their wares on the big stage of the NBA in the USA, the popularity of basketball in Asia seems certain to continue rising. Yao Ming has paved the way for the next generation of Asian players to make their impact on the world stage. It isn’t just football that is growing in Asia, basketball is here to stay – and there are plenty of kids shooting hoops, dreaming of being the next Yao Ming.
