Could Yao be voted onto the All-Star game over Shaq?

Even thow he hasn't played a NBA game, he prob. is the second best center in the west.

 

I hate fan voting. And yes Yao probably will rock the vote. But I doubt he'll deserve it, and won't that make for some wonderful Yao/Shaq bonding time at the game?

 

Well at least these days you can stay home and vote, unlike the wonder years where you had to go to Micky D's or the movies to vote. So be gland

 

So Charlie will you be voting for who you think should start the all-star game, or who you want to see? I've seen too many deserving athletes in Houston shafted to enjoy anyone starting if they don't deserve it. Yao might in a year or two. If he deserves it this year I'd be thrilled to vote for him.

 

Some of the Chinese fans said basketball isn't as big over there as it is here. So most of Yao's fans are pretty much in Shanghai. I imgagine Yao will get maybe 1 1/2 times as many votes from China as he gets from Houston, and that's pretty far fetched the more that I think about it. There sure has hell aren't gonna be 50 million people from China voting for the allstar game period. I imagine, at most, there are only 3 to 4 million people who vote for the allstar game over here. I don't know how anybody can realistically believe that 50 million people from China will vote.

By the way, most NBA starters can't even comprehend getting 10 million votes. Michael Jordan got the most votes ever in history, do you know how many he got? 2,451,136 votes. That is well short of your 10 million standard.

 

I think Yao wont be a overnight success, neither was shaq or others in NBA. Having watched him play in the world's and Asian
game, I think Yao really has a long way to go in NBA. He's only been playing pro-basketball for only 3 years in much less competetive CBA. He had a hard time playing Wang ZhiZhi when Wang was in CBA, and we know Wang isnt that good center by
NBA standards. Just be patient with him. In some day, he will be
the greatest NBA ceter, but just not right now.

 

shaq will be starting in the all-star game unless he's hurt at the break in which case ming has a shot if he's playing well.

 

There's over 50 million Chinese with web access, not counting those who go to the internet cafe, for that matter.

 

whoa everybody! I see the internet angle, but our beloved Yao will probably get schooled for his first few games. That's okay. It's a very different league and the guy is already worn out (as many have pointed out in other threads and in the media). There's still a non-internet portion to choosing the all-stars, right? Kandi may well outplay Yao early in the season. I'm not a hater, but all-star team in his rookie year? Do you know how many people have done that?

 

Shaq, Duncan, and Zo were all pretty much overnight success storys.

 

I'm talking about how many people will actually vote. There are millions of people with access in America, but less than 5 million people take the time to vote. That's including people who vote on paper in the arenas. I'm not sure how many people vote, but 5 millions sounds about right. That might actually include people voting outside the USA. I tried finding this info, but came up empty. Maybe somebody out there can help me prove my point.

 

Yao has a good shot at getting voted in but Shaq's popularity may be hard to topple. Consider the fact that most NBA fans are homers who just poke chads for their hometown guys or vote for superstars regardless of stats. Also, it's a stretch to think that there are enough Asians to swing the vote. How many Asians(people actually from Asia) are there who are not only wired but also avid Ming/basketball fans with the presence of mind to go to NBA.com and vote? My guess is not enough to make a substantial difference. And zacatecas, you said, "All Yao has to do is average 17 points and 13 rebounds 4 blocks, and Yao might be the starter." Where in hell did you get those numbers from!?

 

I could be getting this wrong, but are you saying that you'd have to be a homer to vote for Shaq over Ming? And it's Shaq's "popularity" which will be hard to topple? Sily me, I thought it was his game performances that made him an all-star.

 

If Yao gets voted ahead of Shaq for the all-star game this could be the last year for fan voting. That is unless he comes in and sets the world on fire and averages something like 25 pts 10 rbs and 5 blocks. Ya never know.

 

I agree. Shaq will put up those kinds of numbers with more points so if Yao were to get those numbers he will have to work alot harder.

 

Obviously Shaq is far and away the best player in the game but any idiot can tell you that All Star balloting is a popularity contest. And about game performances, Steve Francis had only played in slightly more than half of the Rockets games last year and still got voted in and if I recall correctly, Alonzo Mourning won the voting in a season in which he didn't even play.