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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 booed. They 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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What's wrong with this picture?
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 at 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.]
No one benefits from Yao and Wang playing in the NBA more than the Asian kids. Just forget about the ethnic rivalries and jealousies for a minute and realize that when an Asian is playing on national TV for the NBA, it really makes any Asian boy or man feel more proud.
Not that we Asians need professional athletes to validate ourselves, but just to show others that we can make it and play ball too. Only the sky is the limit.
Look, my nephews have all bought photo posters of Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming standing together in NBA uniform last night.
Basketball is a game played by all youngsters, in particular the youth of our Asian race. Soccer and baseball is not even popular with Korean-American and Japanese-American youth in the USA. It is basketball and volleyball.
Yao, Wang and Bateer play under a lot of stress. Not only because they have a weight to carry on their shoulders by carrying the torch for Chinese, Chinese-American, Asian, and Asian-American basketball, but because they all face hostility from both black and white ballers. They all want to see these 3 men sink instead of swim.
Yao ain't no Shawn Bradley. He proved it by dunking over him continuously and scoring an "Asian career NBA high" of 30 pts. 30 pts. by an Asian in the NBA is something to be proud of esp. against a high tier team. It was only less than a decade ago when people would laugh at the idea of Asians playing in the NBA.
There are others now waiting to follow their footsteps. Hu Weidong and Li Nan (both on Chinese National Team, and Chen Hsin-An are actively scouted by the NBA. Soon, we will not only see just Asian centers, but guards and forwards as well. Chen had tried out with Sacramento this summer, but they cut him because they were overloaded with talent already.
And, even sooner, we might even have an Asian-American make it to the NBA someday. Remember: nothing is impossible. Only if you make it that way psychologically.
There are already lots of ridiculous stereotypes of us Asian men. This is one that is on its way to being trashed.
Today when I entered a classroom I was subbing, some kids instantly told their teacher (a Japanese-American lady) that I was a good basketball player. I don't know if they had seen my play before or what, or that it had to do with me having the last name Wong (close to Wang in spelling).
Wang and Yao do us proud!!!
Great Wall trio fan
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 17:37:01 (PST)
[130.182.195.111]
counterpuncher, here you go again... In case you haven't pulled the mold out of your ears, Yao Ming has established an NBA field goal percentage record over a course of 5 games (beating out wilt chamberlain!!!). And now, he currently leads the league in field goal percentage at an eye-popping 70.5 %. And it is not just one game, it has been a rather consistent string of games. 20 against the lakers on sunday (9-9), then 9 against cleveland (4-5 shooting), 30 against dallas (in case you haven't noticed, dallas is the best team in the league with an impeccable zone defense [shawn bradley is having a good season, averaging almost 3 blocks and 11 points]), then 18 against the wizards on friday. That's consistency
Chinatown,
Get real. I'm not ready to proclaim Yao as a good player when he only scored 30 pts once, what did he do against the Clippers 4 POINTS! Yao is too inconsistant. Dallas couldn't beat LA or Sacramento in the playoffs. Bank on that!
I support all Asian players, hope all do well. But if he or she sucks, I'll say he or she sucks! What's wrong with the truth? Some of you guys need to figure out what that is instead of getting carried away with nationalistic fervor.
Counter Puncher
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 16:54:20 (PST)
[205.188.209.43]
I remember when I was in middle school not too long ago and reading about Ri Myong. 7'9...I was in disbelief. At the time, his agent was trying to negotiate something, even moving him over to Canada. Allegedly, many teams, including Cleveland, expressed an interest in acquiring him. Unfortunately, nothing happened... Ri recently played in the Asian Games for the north and he played quite well. Offensively, he performed almost exceptionably. He did not rake up many blocks, probably because opponents know better than to try and go inside against him.
chinatown
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 16:31:37 (PST)
[67.98.162.27]
The thing is that when you have a big guy taller than 7 5" with killer shot. This will be ALMOST impossible to stop, not even shaq can stop that kinds shot. The only way they can stop a big guy from shooting from the perimeter is to foul him. This is what happen to the dallas and laker game with Ming. And Ri Myong-hun is 7 10", imagine him shooting in the NBA. Noone can stop him, he put shots in front of shaq face and make him look like an idot. No joke. Ming, if he is more skillful with more practice he should be able to do just that. For real.
Killerper
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 15:43:03 (PST)
[162.83.146.45]
Nicholi,
By the way, Yao Ming is already better than all of the white centers in the NBA. I don't see many whites challenging Shaq.
Mag
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 14:44:06 (PST)
[165.123.243.13]
Nicholi Servia,
"IF this forum's preface writer has this much doubt in MING, why do you insist on believing otherwise."
What's wrong with your reading comprehension skills? The preface writer is openning the topic for debate, you 300 verbal section maroon.
Here's a tip when you take the SAT. The author has a balanced view of the topic. Opening in the negative, Comparision in the positive, Ending with points for discussion.
"Yao Ming will be no one in 2 years."
I believe the proper colloquial English expression is
"Yao Ming will be a nobody in 2 years"
Or a more approiate use of the figure of speech in present tense would be:
"Nicholi Servia is a nobody-wannabe-poser"
AC Dropout
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 14:39:39 (PST)
[24.90.98.143]
Umberto Eco,
Yup, long live the new king. Just give him [Yao] time to get stronger and he will dominate, which he already did with field goal percentage. One step at a time, no need to rush him. I wish him best. shaq soon will be dead as a center becasue of cholestorel problems. The guy need to lose some weight, he is way to over weight for a basketball player. He should be in pro-westeling instead. He's an embrassment to basketball all over the world. He should change career and be in pro-westling for real. That's what he get with his foot problem for eating too much and not care about his weight. What a fool. Long live the new King, Yao Ming. Yao is the man.
shaattack
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 10:29:22 (PST)
[162.83.146.45]
Nicholi Servia,
Your going to be backtracking like Counter Puncher, and kissing an ass like Charles Barkley soon.
First the debate was could Yao even play b-ball.
Answer: Yao Got Game.
Then the debate moved to did Yao deserve to be #1 draft.
Answer: Yao Got Game.
Then the debate moved to can Yao put up the stats in the NBA.
Answer: Yao Got Game.
So now you want to move the debate to will Yao ever wear a Championship ring.
Answer: NBA Championships are usually about the team not an individual player, however, Yao Still Got Game.
As for your advertising comment. Yao has huge marketing in China. There are already documentaries on him on CCTV. So I have no idea where you get the idea that he is like an unknown. Maybe to a white-boy-cracker-head like you, but the rest of the world been following him since 1997.
So you stating Rockets won't win the Championship this year or any year? Or are you trying to state Yao will never win a Championship?
You best be working triple shifts at McD's to have enough money when you have to pay up. Man you best have a net worth of the the USA GDP if you made that bet on a Chinese language board. Dumb bets like that will have your family on welfare for the next 10 generations.
You are so hard up to put down Yao that you are commenting on the Rocket franchise and not on Yao.
People who are down on Yao, have to keep raising the bar, because he has met and exceeded NBA expections so far. Even all the sport news shows had to eat their words this weeks about Yao, because of his performance against the Lakers and the Mavericks.
Next thing you know people will have to say "Yao can't play NHL hockey or minor league baseball," just to have something bad to say.
PS - "Asian spend more money per capita on Basketball"
How do you figure that? The reason why the NBA is recruiting from China is because China is a growing market. That's why there recently exist the nba.com/china site because 1.3 billion people just got interested in Yao playing in the USA. There is no nba.com/japan or nba.com/korea or nba.com/thailand...because no one there is interested in NBA basketball.
AC Dropout
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 10:02:56 (PST)
[24.90.98.143]
Nicoli Servi,
What on earth are you talking about?
Here you are already trying to say that the Rockets won't win the Championship.
What kind of lame s*** is that?
They're much better in the front court
because of Yao. Even if you're a blocking threat, you must consider when
not to challenge. Come on! You seem like a guy who's never even watched the game.
Have you ever heard of FOULS, you idiot!?
The times when Yao challenged the guys that he blocked by simply expanding his jump, they got rejected or simply misplaced their shots. Look what happened to Stackhouse, Nash, Piatkowski, Hughes,and etc. When he doesn't challenge, it is simply an implication that he does not want to foul, you dumm dumm.
Even with Yao's scoring ability and shot blocking abilities, it does not mean that they will win the Championship this year, you idiot!
The draft is for the future!
Get your facts straight before you talk smack. Get real and stay away from drugs.
What was that?
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 09:43:51 (PST)
[63.165.27.242]
Nicholi Servia,
That's your preface, fool. And did you know that the NBA player and organization are losing money. They are not making enough money to support the system and pay for their player. Each year, the salary of the players are slipping. That is why they want more market, otherwise NBA is just a shit sport that is not that popular and nobody's interested. And the NBA organization is trying to change that by marketing NBA to china because china is the biggest market in the world. And to do so, they use a chinese basketball player [not to mention he also has skillz, still leader in FG %]. This goes both ways though, NBA gets talent and market, China get's to bring home their knowledge and improve Chinese basketBall, in hopes of dominating the world in Basketball, always a possibility. Soon it is gonna be asian dominating basket ball, whether you believe me or not. Without china's support of NBA, it will be in the drain, in the garbage, all the star can kiss their status good bye. Without china support of the NBA, shaq, koby, iverson, jordan, will be living on welfare, which much of them probably do before they were stars.
Welfareland
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 09:31:56 (PST)
[162.83.146.45]
That big guy shaq should watch his cholesterol, he is getting bigger and bigger every day. I hope not to see him fall off the court, out of breath or collapse if anything. But man this guy does get bigger and bigger each time i see him. Must be all that fame and wealth for him to be eating so much. The guy is soon to be out of shape and become a big bust. That's what happen with player who don't watch their cholesterol. When this happen Yao will be in line to be the top center for the next 10 years.
unfortunate
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 08:40:30 (PST)
[162.83.146.45]
You know what they say about fat people, the fatter they are the hard they fall and the slower they are too. shaq = fat = slow. I bet Yao can out run him and out move him, maybe even out jump him. Yao can run and move like a 6 5" dude, he is pretty fast for a guy that big. And shaq, well he is just dumb and slow compare to ming. So there is the advantage with shaq and ming. Hope to see that being prove on the court soon. Chinese people and it's army are all behind Ming as he make us proud. That's 1.4 billion people behind him as he rule in basket ball, yes baby.
Billionpep
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 08:28:29 (PST)
[162.83.146.45]
Nicholi Servia,
Your a sicko, I know you don't wish Yao to be a great player. You probably somebody non-asian dude that got jealous of Yao because he is number pick and you sitting home wishing you were. Your a pathetic man. Yes, Yao is suppose to make money, this also show you how much china's economy has come to the world stage and be recognize as a world power. Just don't mess with china and Yao or you get the world to come after you. You faggot.
Hey fool another thing, did the post here of Yao doing good threaten you. It sure looks like it. I wonder what happen to that guy by the name of JING CHA AND DAN WANG, are they you. They are asian impersonator, theres a lot on this site, it's sick.
And last thing, shaq sucks in ball alright, all he has it's strength and body, without that he is another SHAWNS BRADLY. Soon he is going to be overweight and be the slowest player in NBA history. And I'll be the one at home laughing at the big fat man. lol
chickenhead
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 08:11:42 (PST)
[162.83.146.45]
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