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Famous Chinese-Americans in Sports
Yao Ming

Chinese Name 姚明 
DOB 9/12/80
Hometown Shanghai
Height 7'5" (2.26m)
Weight 296 lbs (134Kg)
Current Team Houston Rockets
Position Center
Former Teams Shanghai Sharks, China's National Team
Highlights NBA first draft pick, 2002.
  2002-2003 highest field goal percentage in the NBA.


Yao Ming is the man. He has shown great skill and agility despite his height. He was already a basketball star in China but came to the US for the chance to learn from the best players in the NBA. His charisma and self-deprecating humor has made him an instant star in the US. Chinese Americans have attended Rockets games in great numbers. The NBA even hopes to get Chinese fans to the NBA, going so far as to create a Chinese NBA web site. At only 22, Yao is a man with a lot of exciting potential.

Quotes

  • On Shaq's "ching-chong-yang" remarks: "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little."
  • On life after the NBA: "I will probably join the mass media, because I have always been bothered by the mass media. And if I cannot beat them, I will join them."
  • On the possibility of becoming an actor: "I don't think they can find a stunt double for me."
  • Comments after a defeat: "You have to understand that I look at the game in two parts -- one part is the enjoyment of playing, the other part is winning. Today, I achieved half of that."

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