Word: yao
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Last May Houston--a city with 104,000 Asian residents--was awarded the first pick in the draft, and Chinese officials decided it was time to negotiate Yao's release. (The NBA may schedule Rockets preseason games in Beijing and Shanghai next year; the Rockets paid Yao's Chinese professional team a $350,000 transfer fee, and Yao will give at least 50% of his salary to various Chinese sporting bodies while continuing to play for the Chinese national team in international competitions like the Olympics.) When Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson finally met the future of his franchise...
National-team commitments kept Yao in China until nine days before the NBA's season opener. When he finally arrived in Houston in late October, Yao had little idea what his teammates were doing on the court. "In the first practice, we could see that he had a lot of skill," says Rockets forward Maurice Taylor, "but he was lost. Brand-new system, brand-new rules--he was a rookie, plain and simple...
...Yao's first six games were a disaster. He averaged fewer than 4 points and was frequently out of position on defense. He made highlight films the world over when a crossover dribble by Phoenix Suns guard Stephon Marbury fooled him so badly that he crumpled to the floor like a shot giraffe. Then in a November game against the Lakers, Yao came alive. He hit all nine of his shots, scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds. Shaquille O'Neal, with an injured toe, missed Yao's coming out, but Shaq was back by the time the Rockets...
...seems the bar for Yao was set low, it's because the modern NBA has seen a parade of giants from exotic corners of the world, and few have made the grade. A small number, like Lithuania's 7-ft. 3-in. Arvydas Sabonis, have made effective use of their height; most, like reedy 7-ft. 7-in. Sudanese Manute Bol and wobbly 7-ft. 7-in. Romanian Gheorghe Muresan, have stuck out like Giacometti statues in a gladiator ring. "Unlike Bol and Muresan," says Memphis Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown, "this guy is strong. And he's got great touch...
That's because, unlike many earlier imports, Yao grew up playing basketball. His 6ft. 3-in. mother, Fang Fengdi, a high-ranking official in the Chinese sports-research institute, was on the national team, as was his 6-ft. 7-in. father, Yao Zhiyuan, an engineer with the Shanghai harbor administration. "He's been taught well," says Pete Newell, who runs the respected Big Man Camp for college and professional giants in Honolulu. "He's very, very sound fundamentally." Still, no one, not even Yao, can explain why he suddenly started playing like an All-Star. "I don't know...