When was yao ming born

He didn't like it, he wasn't any good at it. The eight-year-old Yao embarked on a program of intense, repetitive training under disciplinarian coaches who offered little encouragement or variety. Meanwhile, scientists fed him a steady stream of mysterious concoctions designed to make him taller, raising the spectre of possible hormone treatment at a time when China was suffering a series of doping scandals.

Gold medals have become an addiction. How do you kick the habit when you've reached the top? Yao Ming: the basketball giant made in China by order of the state.

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It's just me. But for the Chinese if I fail then that means that thousands of other people fail along with me. They feel as if I'm representing them. Though soccer was still China's most popular spectator sport, basketball had grown increasingly popular during the s. Soon there were more participants in basketball programs than there were playing soccer in China, and NBA games broadcast on state-run television attracted large audiences.

Yao was also a member of the Chinese national team, which competes in international events like the Olympics. Though he was the first to become a number one draft pick, Yao joined a roster of players that included Luis Scola from Argentina, Bostjan Nachbar from Slovenia, and Brazilian star Maybyner "Nene" Hilario.

Of the fifty-seven players drafted, sixteen were from overseas teams, a league record. Some thirty-four nations are represented in the NBA player roster. One of the first foreign stars was Manute Bol, a seven-foot, seven-inch Sudanese player in the s. The increasing number of athletes from Europe, Africa, and now even Asia comes thanks to interest in the sport in faraway places.

Interest in the NBA teams grew with the help of satellite television, which broadcast NBA games, and when the league began taking top players on overseas exhibition tours. In countries outside of the United States, the college athletic tradition is virtually nonexistent.

Sports facilities exist solely for training national athletes for the Olympics. Professional sports is dominated by soccer, with intense national rivalries, players who become household names, and sold-out stadiums in every city. But professional basketball teams have also gained a foothold in European cities. Talented players, both homegrown and imported, can join teams and turn professional when they are still in their teens.

They gain valuable competitive experience which makes them ready to play in the NBA. Still, there is some criticism of the new face of the NBA, and hints that the new emphasis on foreign players may be a backlash against the "bad boy" reputation of some of its biggest stars, like Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, and Kobe Bryant.

As Village Voice writer Dan McGraw explained: "The perception—and perception is always important in matters of race—is that the NBA is acing out the black man because of corporate read: white fans and international marketing money. High-scoring white guys equals big bucks. Drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, the seven-foot, three-inch player has been hailed as the next Yao Ming. Yao's immense height and court skills began attracting notice outside of China.

Player scouts for NBA teams had discovered him, and so had sports marketing companies. In the athletic gear maker Nike invited him to the United States for a series of basketball camps. It was an important milestone for Yao, as he told Peter Hessler in a profile that appeared in the New Yorker. But in America I finally played against people my own age, and I realized that I was actually very good. That gave me a lot of confidence. For the next few years, Yao was caught between his country and the chance to become an international superstar.

China wanted to keep him with the Sharks and on the national team, and was not eager to see him leave the country for a million-dollar contract to play with the NBA. A sports marketing firm almost engineered a deal in , but it involved giving the Sharks a large percentage of his potential American paycheck, which would have been prohibited by NBA players' union rules. In the spring of , Yao was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit—where many international players show off their talents before NBA scouts—but the Chinese government refused to let him go.

The Chinese national team was about to begin its Olympic workouts, the official explanation went, and wanted Yao to be prepared for the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. Yao and his national teammates made an impression in Sydney. They were dubbed the "Walking Wall of China" for their prowess, but China was defeated by an all-star U.

Wang went on to become the first player from China to enter the NBA draft in , and Batere was also signed that year by the Denver Nuggets, but Yao remained in China. One of the reasons may have been his age: if a player has not come up through the college ranks, he must be twenty-two years old to play in the NBA when his rookie season kicks off.

During one of the playoff games, Yao he took twenty-one shots and sank every one of them.