The two-dozen Shanghai junior high students playing hoops on the
outdoor courts at the Nike Basketball Garden share a dream and a
hero.
They want to play in the NBA, just like Houston Rockets rookie Yao
Ming.
"Someday, there'll be no Americans left in the NBA," said
12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school's team two weeks ago
after watching Shanghai's own Yao in a televised NBA game.
"The players will all be Chinese, like Yao!"
To
China, Yao is a homegrown superstar who helped pry open the doors
of the world's premier basketball league to Chinese players. To the
NBA and companies such as Nike and Reebok, the 2.26-meter center
offers an opening of a different sort into the world's largest
untapped market.
Excited about reaching 1.3 billion potential fans, the NBA more
than doubled the number of its games broadcast in China this
season. The total will be up to 170, 30 involving the Rockets.
The first regular NBA game aired in China in 1989.
Yao's NBA debut against the Indiana Pacers in October, carried by
China Central Television, reached 287 million households. By
contrast, there are only about 105 million TV households in the
United States.
That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao's fans: He
played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds and didn't make
a basket in a loss.
Compare that with his performance on Wednesday night, also against
Indiana: 29 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
The NBA has to be excited about his on-court success. Maturing with
each game, it seems, he's averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds,
quite solid for a rookie. And he leads the league in shooting
percentage (59.9).
Yao just might be an NBA All-Star, too. Through Thursday, he ranked
second among Western Conference centers with more than 470,000
votes - fewer than 10,000 behind Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille
O'Neal. Fans can vote on the Internet, and ballots are available in
Mandarin this year for the first time.
The league recently opened an office in Beijing and already had one
in Hong Kong, plans to start a Chinese-language Website and fan
magazine, and is working with a Chinese travel agency to put
together package tours to the United States for NBA games.
"Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese," said NBA
spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, who is based in Hong Kong. "One of
them has now made it to the NBA. That makes the dream seem
achievable for other people in China."
The 22-year-old Yao is not the country's first player in the NBA;
Wang Zhizhi broke that barrier as a role player with the Dallas
Mavericks in April 2001. But Yao's combination of modest demeanor
and serious Rookie of the Year candidacy makes him a favorite back
home.
"Yeah, I know Wang Zhizhi. But he's not Yao Ming. Nobody plays like
Yao Ming," said Xing.
"He's so awesome as a player and a person. He makes me proud to be
Chinese," said Cheng Kanzhang, also 12.
Despite his popularity, Yao has only a minor advertising presence
in China, appearing in few TV commercials or billboards. He has
only one endorsement deal with a big U.S. company - Nike - and that
dates to his days with the Shanghai Sharks of China's pro
league.
Some companies try to capitalize on the Yao phenomenon in less
direct ways.
Coca-Cola signed on as chief sponsor of NBA games broadcast on
Shanghai Television immediately after Yao joined the NBA, said Liu
Jing, a manager at Shanghai Yuan Tai Advertising.
Reebok issued a new line of sneakers with NBA logos, endorsed by
players such as the Chicago Bulls' Jalen Rose. In at least one
Shanghai store, Sports City, the shoes have been best-sellers since
hitting the shelves two weeks ago at a cost of up to US$100.
"Yao Ming doesn't endorse them. But if you look at how the
popularity of the NBA is rising, that's definitely because of Yao
Ming," saleswoman Hong Jing said.
There's no shortage of attention for Yao in China's increasingly
commercial media.
The Shanghai-based Life Weekly magazine runs "Keeping Tabs
on Yao Ming," a regular column updating readers on everything from
Yao's performance to his dinner. The popular website sina.com.cn
has a page dedicated to Yao, with charts of statistics and
translations of U.S. media coverage.
Shanghai Television's Sports Channel, which airs two NBA games a
week, sent reporters to the United States to cover Yao - the first
overseas sports reporting by the municipally owned network.
"Yao Ming is the most popular athlete in China," Sports Channel
senior producer Ye Li said.
"He is a source of pride for millions at home."
(eastday.com December 21, 2002)