YAO
THE GAME
Yao, was drafted first overall by
the Houston Rockets back in the
2002 NBA draft. Yao Ming, is
arguably one of the most
dominant centers in NBA history.
In his NBA career he averaged
19 points per game, 9.2 rebounds
per game and 1.9 blocks per
game.
As soon as Yao landed on
american soil, he was
representing his 270 million fans
in China which is almost as much
as the whole population in the
US. In recent years, the Houston
Rockets have won two NBA
championships and they believed
that Yao was the key to help
houston gain another
championship title, this did not
only motivate Yao to play well but
it added a large amount of
pressure to him.
Yao Ming helped change the
NBA landscape and opened the
NBA to a new fanbase in China.
Yao Ming added an new
international flavor to the NBA,
who was ready to be in
bussiness.
He was everything you would want in
athlete. He was a hardwoker (especially
in learning english), he never
complained and he was a caring
person. Obviously Yao has encountered
some criticism about how he shouldn’t
have been a #1 draft pick and racism
from other players (refering to shaq);
but Yao never gave up. He has
influenced many asian communities
such as china to play basketball. This
giant was a huge role model for all
asians around the world.