"He's just such an affable person with a great sense of humor," recalls Colin Pine, who served as Yao's personal translator during his first few years at Houston. Next to the giant panda perhaps, Yao is the most recognizable - and likable - Chinese face.
When the Shanghai Sharks, his former basketball team in China, retired his number, Yao took out a full page thank you ad in Chinese newspapers that said: "How does a single blade of grass thank the sun?" Off court he was witty but never smart-alecky. On court, Yao was pugnacious but never repugnant. I also admired Yao for his maturity and modesty. He was voted an All-Star player in the league eight times. In the nine years he played in the NBA, Yao averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks. "For a big guy, Yao had excellent basketball IQ," says Ma Jian, 41, a retired national team player who played for Utah in the NCAA in the 1990s. You cannot teach height, as they say in basketball.īut he was also equipped with a soft shooting touch that enabled him to score from the outside. Yao was such a towering presence he could easily dunk the ball unless he is double or triple-teamed. Yao turned out to be a real giant in every way. I watched every Yao game I could catch on TV.īut I, too, wondered: Could Yao adapt to the rough-and-tumble world of the NBA? Is he tough enough to play against chest-thumping superstars like Shaquille O'Neal? And how long before he will be talking trash, shoving referees and snubbing fans? "He has a lot of things you can't teach." "There are very few people that skilled at that size," basketball commentator P.J. Yao did and Barkley kissed a donkey's rear end.
Not everyone believed Yao could make the grade in the NBA.Ĭharles Barkley, a retired NBA star and a TV commentator, was so skeptical he promised to kiss a donkey's behind if Yao scored more than 19 points in a game in his debut season.
The Shanghai phenomenon confessed to feeling the pressure of representing one billion Chinese in the NBA.īut he had other pressing matters in mind. I'm coming." That was all he could say when I asked him to say something in English on camera.Īs an NBA rookie, he was then about to sign a four-year contract with the Rockets worth about $9 million, a mind-boggling bonanza considering the average yearly income per person in China then was less than $1,000. "I'm happy to join the Houston rockets," he told me. (CNN) - It was the most neck-breaking assignment I've ever covered.įor 15 long minutes I strained my neck looking upwards as I interviewed the seven-foot-six Yao Ming just after he was drafted to the North American National Basketball Association's (NBA) No.
Admirers say Yao has done more for China's image overseas than any politician or diplomat.Yao Ming was voted an All-Star player in the NBA league eight times.China's Yao Ming to announce on July 20 his "future personal development plans".