Yao Ming

Yao Ming ({{zh-cp |c=姚明 |p=Yáo Míng}}; born September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China) is a professional basketball player from China. He currently plays center for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association. Yao Ming is the tallest active player in NBA basketball, listed at a playing height of 7 feet, 6 inches and is rumored to be still growing.

NBA career

Yao's preseason performances, however, were questionable, and left many wondering why he was the first overall pick. He started the regular season on the bench, and seemed to be a long project and years away from becoming a major contributor to the team. However, he began to turn things around in mid-November. In a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he scored 20 points, making all of his shots (9 field goals and two free throws) against one of the best teams in the NBA. This performance led to a memorable televised incident where TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley, having lost a bet in which he stated Yao would never score 20 points in a game for the season, was supposed to literally kiss the ass of TNT co-analyst Kenny Smith, but was forced to fulfill the bet on a donkey brought onto the TV set by Smith. Two games later, against the Rockets' in-state rival Dallas Mavericks, he deposited 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in a game that showed that Yao could definitely play as a starter. By the end of the month, Yao was firmly entrenched in the starting lineup.

Related Topics:
November - Los Angeles Lakers - NBA - TNT - Charles Barkley - Ass - Kenny Smith - Donkey - Dallas Mavericks

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By December and January, Yao was proving to be a highly consistent starter. He put up only a few big games, largely because he didn't play as many minutes in games, but he helped his team whenever he took to the court. Eventually, he was perceived as a rival to the Lakers' star center Shaquille O'Neal, turning Rockets/Lakers games into Yao vs. Shaq games. O'Neal was criticized for comments he made before the season when asked about the matchups, as he told a reporter to leave Yao a message which mimicked the Chinese language. Yao took it in stride, and eased the situation by joking that "Chinese is a hard language to learn."

Related Topics:
December - January - Shaquille O'Neal - Chinese language

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That sort of good humour and light-heartedness off the court, plus his reputation for being very personable, made him extremely popular among fans. His likability inspired a catchy song in the Houston area by artists Chance McClain and Kevin Ryan (loosely based on the popular "Olé" chants you would hear at a European football game), and, despite being just a rookie, Yao quickly became one of the league's most marketable players. Featured in advertisements of Apple, Gatorade, and a popular Super Bowl ad for Visa, it did not take long for "Yao Ming" to become a household name.

Related Topics:
Apple - Gatorade - Super Bowl - Visa

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In February, Yao was rewarded for his excellent play by being selected as the starting center for the Western Conference in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta. Although he scored only two points and grabbed only two rebounds in 16 minutes of play, his selection proved how popular he was with fans, as he garnered more votes than established NBA stars such as Shaquille O'Neal.

Related Topics:
February - 2003 - NBA All-Star Game - Shaquille O'Neal

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Many basketball fans have criticized Yao's All-Star selections, claiming that he could not be voted in as a starter without the substantial number of votes he receives from his native China, as the NBA had extended its online fan voting for the All-Star starters to that country for the first time in 2002-03. These fans are quick to point out China's massive population as an unfair advantage in favor of Yao. Yao's main Western Conference rival at center in his first two seasons, Shaquille O'Neal, has also cited Yao's support from Chinese fans as the reason why he receives more All-Star votes. However, despite the significant backlash against Yao, no actual figures have yet been provided to prove that Chinese fans have ever been the deciding factor in All-Star voting. In fact, for the 2004 All-Star Game, the year in which Yao won the starting spot by the smallest margin in his career, he actually received around 4,000 fewer online votes than his rival, Shaquille O'Neal. Yao managed to make up for this by outvoting O'Neal in paper balloting. These paper ballots were handed out in NBA arenas and shopping malls in the United States and Chinese fans were unable to vote on them. Thanks to paper balloting, Yao went on to finish ahead of O'Neal that year by a margin of 29,000 votes overall.

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Following the All-Star break in 2003, Yao continued the consistency he showed in the first half of the year, as he helped the Rockets unsuccessfully battle for a playoff spot. Yao finished the season averaging 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, second among rookies, in addition to a rookie-class best 1.8 blocks per game, and finising 2nd in rookie of the year voting, losing out to high schooler Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns.

Related Topics:
Amare Stoudemire - Phoenix Suns

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During the NBA's offseason in 2003, Yao spent a great deal of time helping to raise money and awareness of SARS in his home country. Among his efforts was a telethon he hosted, which raised $300,000 to help stop the disease.

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Before the start of Yao's sophomore season, the Rockets' head coach Rudy Tomjanovich had resigned due to health issues and long time New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy was brought in. Van Gundy ran a slower offense with a higher emphasis on Yao. As a result, Yao averaged 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game (both team highs), and scored a career-high 41 points against the Atlanta Hawks in February. He was voted the starting center of the 2004 NBA All-Star game for the second year in a row (once again ahead of Shaquille O'Neal). His improvement was showcased by his 16 points and 4 rebounds in only 20 minutes in his second All-Star game. Yao was also instrumental in helping the Rockets claim the seventh seed in the 2003-2004 Playoffs. Despite his efforts, the team was eliminated by the Lakers in the first round. However, his performance left no doubt that Yao would be the next dominant center of the NBA.

Related Topics:
Rudy Tomjanovich - New York Knicks - Jeff Van Gundy - Atlanta Hawks - 2004 - NBA All-Star game - Shaquille O'Neal - NBA

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During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Yao carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony. He then famously vowed to abstain from shaving his beard for half a year unless the Chinese national basketball team made it into the quarter-finals. After some sub-par displays, where China slumped 58-83, 57-82 and 52-89 against Spain, Argentina and Italy respectively, they came back with a miraculous 67-66 win over reigning world champions Serbia & Montenegro; Yao practically carried the team with 27 points. He was selected to the All-Olympics team with his dominating performance, averaging 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9% from the field.

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In 2004-05, his third season in the NBA, Yao had another impressive season leading the Rockets along with offseason acquisition Tracy McGrady to their second straight playoffs. On 11 Mar, 2005, Yao logged an impressive "20/20" game against the Phoenix Suns in which he scored 27 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots. The Rockets were eliminated in first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks in 7 games, during which Yao averaged 21.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.71 blocks per game, including three 30+ point games. He was voted as a Western Conference All-Star in February after shattering the record for most All-Star votes breaking Michael Jordan's previous record. This was mostly aided by the fact that Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Eastern Conference Miami Heat during the offseason but it is also a testament to Yao's rise to one of the NBA's elite.

Related Topics:
NBA - Tracy McGrady - Michael Jordan - Shaquille O'Neal - Miami Heat

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In 2005, Yao became the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, which focuses on his first year in the United States.

Related Topics:
2005 - Documentary - The Year of the Yao

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