Current location:Earth Explorer news portal > entertainment
Yao: NBA very welcome in China
Earth Explorer news portal2024-05-21 09:30:34【entertainment】3People have gathered around
IntroductionYao Ming and Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets greet each other during the game against the Cleveland
Yao Ming and Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets greet each other during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers last Wednesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Hoops legend has nothing but warm words for his old stomping ground during recent US visit
Basketball great Yao Ming believes the NBA is still rated "first-class" in China, even though fans in his home country crave the days when they could cheer on one of their own in the league.
Yao, the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, used to be that guy when he soared to stardom in the United States as an eight-time All-Star for the Houston Rockets. The affable, 7-foot-6(2.29-meter) center dominated the league before retiring in 2011 at the age of 30 following a slew of injury problems.
He was the first international player to be selected first overall in the NBA Draft (2002) without having played college basketball in the US. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2016 as a global ambassador of basketball in recognition of his efforts on and off the court to promote the game. The Rockets retired his No 11 jersey on Feb 3, 2017.
"I have to say, the NBA is in the first class... (because) you know the players being exposed in China for so long," Yao said, when asked about the past issues between China and the NBA during a trip to New York last week.
"The players, the teams (are) all still very welcome in China and (we had) a couple of players in China just this past summer."
Not surprisingly, Yao's achievements have been hugely influential in growing the NBA, and hoops in general, in China. In 2004, two years after Yao joined the league, the NBA became the first professional American sports league to play in China with a pair of Rockets preseason games.
Address of this article:http://austria.tom-paine.com/content-94a099840.html
Very good!(76)
Related articles
- Messi in and Dybala out in Argentina squad for pre
- Beijing airports enhance payment facilities for foreigners
- Father's DIY 'excavator' toy delights daughter and wins hearts online
- Tianjin Port builds high
- Nuggets blow 20
- China strengthens crackdown on illegal fishing
- Rational, personalized consumption gains popularity among youngsters
- Canadian business council urges regular dialogue with China
- Independent UN experts urge Yemen’s Houthis to free detained Baha'i followers
- China's Hong Kong signs tax pact with Croatia
Popular articles
- Ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse has been refloated
- Direct route facilitates Chilean cherry imports for Chinese consumers
- Sri Lanka to join Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: president
- Chinese scholar introduces nation’s human rights protection of the disabled at Human Rights Council
Recommended
Pope trip to Luxembourg, Belgium confirmed for September, 2 weeks after challenging Asia visit
Inside Molly
Qinghai province activates development potential via featured industries
Feature: China
Uber and Lyft say they'll stay in Minnesota after Legislature passes driver pay compromise
Reassurance, aspiration, hope
China files over 1,000 new undergraduate education programs in 2023
HKSAR LegCo unanimously passes national security bill
Links
- Eye watering amount of money for south Auckland roading project, cyclists say
- On Your Side: Who needs a will, and how do you create one?
- China celebrates 100 years of Communist Party
- One dead after Okaramio crash
- Revealed: The 25 safest airlines for 2024
- HKFP Lens: Artist displays 'overlapping memories' of Hong Kong and UK on film
- Taiwan's Golden Horse a holdout for uncensored Chinese cinema
- What to watch: Tales from the Loop
- Changes to Gloriavale response could risk gains
- Armed police close Auckland street after reported kidnapping, woman injured