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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Yao Ming: The Next Asian Superstar?
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:38:56 AM)
he sweetest moment for Asian men in American sports came on June 26, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. The Houston Rockets had just spent their number one overall draft pick on 7-5 Chinese center Yao Ming over 6-2 Duke guard Jay Williams. The largely black crowd of draft prospects and their contingents had reason to be displeased. For the past quarter century black athletes had dominated pro basketball and they saw Yao as a subversive force, an alien threat. Even Charles Barkley -- Yao's basketball idol -- sniped at Houston's choice and hinted at bad consequences.
David or Goliath?
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In the global sports scene blacks have come to represent all-around athletic prowess. Asian athletes, on the other hand, have been painted as disciplined and skilled but lacking power and size, able to excel only in sports no one cares about. For an Asian to get the top pick in a black-dominated sport was heresy.
To appreciate what Yao represents to Asian American men requires a quick trip down memory lane. And we do mean quick. The lane is short and sparsely populated.
In the beginning there was Sammy Lee, the first Asian American to win Olympic gold. He did it with 10-meter platform diving at the 1948 London games and again in 1952 at the Helsinki games. Not exactly a marquee sport, but inspiring nevertheless in a time when Asian Americans hardly knew what to call themselves.
Then came Michael Chang whose 1989 French Open championship has passed into tennis legend. Cramping and down two sets to Ivan Lendl in the round of 16, the 17-year-old phenom dared to discombobulate the Ice Man with moonballs and an underhanded serve. The ploy worked. The proof that Chang's nerves and speed were real came in the classic 5-set finals victory against Stefan Edberg. But Chang's recent ignomious descent into tennis twilight raises the suspicion that he simply lacks the size and power to stay in the power game.
It wasn't until Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995 that an Asian athlete was able to inspire sustained frenzy in one of the big-three sports. Nomo's martian windup and delivery proved so effective that he set Dodgers strikeout records, made the All-Stars and inspired Nomomania.
By 2001 when Ichiro Suzuki joined the Mariners, Asian imports taking Rookie of the Year honors had practically become a Major League tradition. But none had done it with Ichiro's flair or sunglasses. It wasn't enough that he led the game in hitting and basestealing, he seemed determined to make it look easy. Sex appeal had finally come to the image of the Asian male athlete.
But the image still lacked something in many AA minds. Sure, for a leadoff hitter Ichiro hit his share of home runs, but he was known for speed and finesse, not power. Having chafed so long under stereotypes denying them size and strength, AA men longed for a star who could knock those assumptions back into the last millennium.
Eyes turned longingly to football as the obvious arena for the ultimate stereotype smasher -- and saw only Dat Nguyen of the Dallas Cowboys. As a promising linebacker, Nguyen doesn't enjoy the cache of a star offensive back. And at 5-11 and 240 pounds, Nguyen isn't exactly in the 99th percentile in terms of size and power among football players.
Asian American eyes were drawn to basketball by a trio of giants known collectively as "The Great Wall". They were very big for the Chinese national team. First to make his NBA debut was Wang Zhizhi (7-1, 220 pounds) in April 2001. As a center for the Dallas Mavericks he has averaged 5.5 points per 10.6 minutes of playing time per game. A respectable stat for any rookie but disappointing for those who had hoped for an instant Asian star. Then came Mengke Bateer (6-11, 290 pounds) in February of 2002. Despite 15.1 minutes of play per game as a center for the Denver Nuggets, he too disappointed some with an average 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Enter the Dragon. At a height variously described as 7-5 or 7-6, Yao Ming, 22, is at once the tallest and youngest of the trio. In the past two years his weight shot up from 255 to 295 pound -- and he's still growing. His gifts extend beyond size, however. He moves a foot shorter. Born to a pair of former stars for the Chinese national teams, his court instincts and skills are practically dyed-in-the-wool.
And yet Yao isn't a lock to defy the darker prognostications of his prospects as a Rocket. He was regularly outplayed by Wang Zhizhi when both were playing in China. Even with Yao, Wang and Mengke, the Chinese national team routinely lost to second-tier powers like France and Lithuania. Yao has never gone up against the likes of Shaquille O'Neal. The adjustment to life in the U.S. will be long and difficult. In short, Yao Ming is ideally positioned to become the biggest disappointment in the history of Asians in American sports.
Is Yao Ming the next Asian superstar? Or is he more likely to reinforce the image of Asian men as also-rans in power sports?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
Funny that so many of you cast doubts on Ming. So he is not so great right now. Neither was Shaq when he started. If Shaq can improve, why can't Ming?
FOP
Sunday, July 28, 2002 at 07:23:29 (PDT)
To Viet Guy in Houston,
The reason I was so adamant on Kenny Smith's shortness is I saw him face to face. I worked in a hotel in Galveston and he came to me to ask for his car. He gave me his name and that's why I was sure it was him.
The guy did not say hi back to you in Galleria because he might not be Kenny Smith. (As Chris Tucker told Jackie Chan, "y'all look alike".)
To hoopster,
NBA could fudge both height and weight stats. Hakeem is indeed tall. However, he is a waif.
FOP
Sunday, July 28, 2002 at 07:16:48 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
What's your problem? No one stands a chance against Shaq. SO why compare Yao MIng with Shaq?
Nothing wrong with overestimating Yao Ming becasue he is also Asian. White folks do it all the time. Have some pride in your ethnicity.
Need I remind you about: Joe Kleine, Jon Koncack, Chris Mihm, Joe Pryzbilla, etc. Seems like every year a white center or another Larry Bird gets hyped up pre-draft and then ends up being terrible. For example, please tell me why Tom Gugliotta hads been on the Olympic Team,
Wow
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 20:41:29 (PDT)
Wang Zhizhi can be just as good as Arvidis Sabonis. I have seen him in practice shootouts at the Laker games. It is sad that he is on such a talent overloaded team (Dallas Mavericks). I think it would inhibit his development. He needs to find another team that really needs his minutes and play.
WANG, go to Golden State.
W. Zhizhi fan
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 19:07:11 (PDT)
Sports owners are not dumb. They know there is a young and large Asian fan base out there. That is why you see so many baseball teams sign Japanese and even Korean players as much as they can.
It is the same with the NBA. I know there will be many more Chinese players to come in the future. Yao, Wang and Bateer are not the exceptions.
we'll see
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 19:03:33 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
you said:
"296 relative to his 7-5 height is not that big. It's nor overall mass that's important, but overall muscle and strength."
Shaq was 292 pounds in his rookie year, at the same height of 7'1", now he's grown to something like 340. Yao is young. He has more room to grow.
you said:
"Ming can't even overpower and dominate a dude that didn't even get drafted (I can't spell his name, but the Oregon guy.)"
First, the Oregon guy was Chris Christoffersen, who is a big guy himself at 7'2" and 300 pounds. Second, this was an exhibition game that didn't go into their personal stats, so there wasn't any motive for Yao or Chris to play 100 percent. Also, this is a comment Chris had about Yao after the exhibition game, "He's a great player who will have an impact."
you said:
"Height doesn't automatically translate into an NBA bad ass. Muerason, Bradley, Bol... all tall as f----, but it doesn't matter because you need more than height to survive."
Those three players may match Yao in height, but Yao has height and more to survive. Muresan was 7'7", 300 pounds, but his height was from a growth-related disorder that affected his agility and health (both his parents were under 6 feet tall). Because of his health problems from his abnormal growth, he never became a star. Shawn Bradley, 7'6", was 245 pounds in his rookie year. Now he's 265 lbs, but he still can't hold his fort at the post. Manute Bol, 7'7", was even skinner. His maximum weight was 225 pounds, and you can see why he never became a star either.
Yao Ming, 7'5", is 296 pounds and young. His offensive ability is greater than those three combined. He has more weight, muscle, and agility to develop defensively than any of those three players.
you said:
"The last Olympic US "dream team" was a joke. They were just there getting a sun tan and playing their C game. It's not going to be like that in the real NBA season."
If you say Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning, Ray Allen, ... are a joke, then I don't know what to say.
When the big 3 (Yao, Wang, Menk) played against them, China was beating U.S.A. by up to 6 points, until after about 18 minutes into the game, when all three fouled out. And your right, the NBA season is not going to be like the olympics, because the top players in the NBA won't be on one team.
Let's wait until the season starts and see for ourselves how Yao does.
B. Lee
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 18:40:53 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
Yo dude, why you a hater. Why don't you give the guy [Yao] a chance and stop criticizing him all the time. You seem like you hate the guy or something. Anyway what is your real name, I bet it ain't Dan Wang. You probably trying to fool everyone here with your fake name [asain] identity. And DoubleD ain't a hater. He never said anything negative about nobody, or no group of people. And what is this about you bringing race issue and talking about racism. Look at youself dude. This is one of your quote;
you said,
He's [meaning Yao] been playing only short and weak opponents all his life.
comment,
Your steortyping on asain or chinese basketball player saying that they are all weak and small. But the news for you is that you never been to china and see them play, so STOP PREJUDGING. Your a pathetic loser. A lot of players in china are big and strong and it's time for you to realize this and stop sterotyping asain players. There are many asain player that are over 7 feet. Do some reasearch and come and talk, don't PREJUDGE. People like you, that steortype people is people that I look down upon.
Stop the Hater
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 11:30:33 (PDT)
Who cares if he sucks or not...as long as we have another chinese in the NBA its all good...And if he does suck you gotta make excuses up because we have to help out our own people...when people of other races make fun of wang zhi zhi I defend him by saying things like well give him more minutes and he will score more or of course hes like surrounded by foreigners...you gotta learn how to defend your own people instead of talking negatively about them...In my opinion Yao Ming will do good because he got size...Look at wang zhi zhi...he scored like 16 in his best game in like 20 minutes...Imagine what Yao Ming can do...I dont care if he sucks or not im gonna wear my Yao Ming Jersey with pride...I dont see any of you people talking negatively about him playing in the NBA...
phil the thrill
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 09:12:23 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
Hey dude, are you embrassed or ashamed of your asainess? You seem like, you talk like your not proud of who you are. You seem like you don't want to be reffered as asain or something.
Anyway I am proud of who I am. I was born a chinese and I'm proud of it. B/c if I'm not proud of being myself then who is? NObody is, yup nobody. You ever heard of the expression, Love yourself before you love anyone else. If you don't love yourself how someone gonna love you.
Anyway, no hard feelings dude. And good luck with life. I don't mean to be rude to you. Your free to have your opinion and I am in no harsh judgement of that. Thanks for sharing with us your disscussion though. I appreciated.
DoubleD (AM)
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 07:58:35 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
Again I quote,
"And don't respond with something like I am on the basket ball team in college. Cause that is what your gonna say, but who can believe you? NOBODY!!" Because there isn't any asain basketball player in college trying out for the NBA. And don't tell me your in the NBA or work for the NBA, again nobody is gonna believe you b/c asain [chinese] are not in the NBA. So now your probally gonna say but I play street ball at the park and I learn from my buddies. Ok you might be right here but what does your buddies know about basketball. They are all asain I assume, so they know very little just like you. I guess they gulible just like you too.
[My opinion of best basketball player, shaq, iverson, bryan, carter, garnet, griffen, jordan, steve francis, jason kid,]
You know how similar people hang out with their own kind, i.e gulible people like you probally hang out with gulible people too or maybe hangout with unguilble people that take advantage of you and telling you what their opinion and thinking your might be stupid enought to believe them. And so I guess THEY SUCEEDED!!!So what is it? I assume your talking to your asain friend and talk about basketball player wingspan, and all them fool you. Dam your gulible. Advice.... don't believe street talk. A lof of it is just bullS***!! Got it. And BE YOUR OWN MAN, have your own opinion , judgement and mind!!!
DoubleD (AM)
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 07:41:03 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
Your ignorant and are making careless and very wrong judgement on how well a basketball player can play. Your judgement is all WRONG!! Keep tring though, I think what DoubleD is tring to say is that why is he #1 pick if he isn't good. Are you better than the manager at Houston to make better judgement? NO !! But you free to have your own judgement like eveyone else and there is nothing wrong with that. What DoubleD said has nothing to do with race issue, dude. Your mind is messup up if you think so.
Again you can think all you want b/c everyone has their own opinion. Some say that Yao is gonna be really good some say not so good, again is one's opinion.
If DoubleD is worshipping Yao Ming as a basketplayer then what is wrong with that? Nothing!!! There are a lot of people who have basketball player idle [or anyother types of idle] and wear their jersey b/c they like how he plays. But to tell you the truth, to me doesn't seem like he is worshipping him, but if you see it that way then thats your opinion. What I see is that he just want to make a logical, moral statement about what you said, thats all. Just like you, making your statement about people wingspan even though a lot of it doesn't make anysense but your still entile to your opinion, right?
Think harder b4 any judgement
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 07:22:50 (PDT)
Dan Wang,
Ya, your right about judging on how the player play. But have you even see him play? And why did you come to conclusion that he sucks. Are you as good as him to say that he sucks. Do you know that he is only 21, and that's pretty young to have the skills, he does. And did you see that report I post that Vince Carter said about him? He can judge a play, [he's a professional, two times all star], YOU CAN'T!!!. Your just a street ball player and what do you know about basketball? All you know is just as long as the ball gets in the hole and that is fine with you right? Trust me there is a lot about basketball than just that and you haven't know yet. So keep learning. And don't respond with something like I am on the basket ball team in college. Cause that is what your gonna say, but who can believe you? NOBODY!! The only thing you know about basketball is what you heard and see. You have no common sense to judge.
And where did you hear story that Mike Tyson has wingspan of 7 foot. Your very gullible to believe that. Where is your common sense? You obviously don't have any. If he Tyson do have wingspan of 7 foot then wouldn't he look unique, more like a gorrila than a human. Why so dumb? Your pathetic. Again you have no common sense and beleive only what people tells you so how are you gonna judge on a basketball player. You should just be silent and let the grown-up, expert and professional player make the judement. Someone like Vince Carter and NOT YOU!!!!
Why didn't you explain to me the quote I had for you!!
DoubleD (AM)
Saturday, July 27, 2002 at 07:01:48 (PDT)
Ray,
You might have heard of Pervis Ellison, Joe Smith, Michael Olowokandi, Derrick Coleman, and Joe Barry Carroll (aka Joe Barely Cares). These guys were the top picks of their respective drafts. Being no. 1 doesn't mean you're going to become a great player and it won't mean you're even the best player in the draft. Big men always get drafted before the guards. There's little question that Jay Williams was the best player in this year's draft, but the ROckets don't need another point guard. And I do believe Jay Williams will be the best NBA player out of this draft.
I don't think any of these big men I mentioned are more than role players. We shall see how Yao does, but I think he will be an average center at best. Big men that have guard skills have never excelled in the NBA because they are supposed to have big man skills. Olajuwon had horrible dribbling and outside shooting skills, but he excelled because he learned how to play as a big man.
I don't see Yao becoming an intimidator on defense either or a rugged rebounder. Something is wrong with Chinese basketball when all of their big men don't play like big men.
I do hope to see an Asian-American play in the NBA in the near future.
c-web
Friday, July 26, 2002 at 13:34:23 (PDT)
Dan Wang, since you're a non-believer, here's the evidence on my part:
From - http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/wbc_draft_020711.html
"Though seven inches shorter than Yao, Hilario actually has the same wingspan - 7-4½ inches. Denver acquired him in a draft-night trade with New York and the Nuggets can expect him to contribute right away as a defender, rebounder and shot-blocker. "
Check it out yourself. Go curse at the NBA organization and the World Basketball Championships if you find you have the real information, arrogant retard.
SAME AS HILARIO
chinatown
Friday, July 26, 2002 at 11:36:55 (PDT)
Hoopster,
I did not believe until I saw him face to face. Vernon Maxwell is not tall. I m a Rockets fan and I saw the guy in Galveston when Rockets was in training. I did not need to look "up" to him when we talked. At most the guy is 6'0" with his sneakers on.
FOP
Friday, July 26, 2002 at 10:36:50 (PDT)
Ray:
what does kevin garnett and the lakers have to do with this topic?
Benson
Friday, July 26, 2002 at 09:26:04 (PDT)
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