Its because, nobody has EVER garnered this much attention for any type of basketball game. I've never seen ESPN so hooked on one player who was playing an exhibition, regardless of whether or not they were the #1 pick. I'm sure the players are finding all this attention to him a little unsettling. Almost as if the media could find nothing compelling with the NBA anymore, that they have to turn to promoting Ming. Well...the media is probably right. There's nothing intruging with this league right now, and the attention spent on Ming proves this. C'mon...Ben Wallace, Raef Lafrentz...on a world championship squad? Forget about house-hold names, these guys couldn't get recognized in their own cities. I'm pumped with Ming, and all the attention he will be recieving. Let the players be mad w/ envy, but they've got nobody else to blame but their unspectacular selves. (btw - Ming's blocking the shots of elite players, at will...imagine what he will do against the denver nuggets and chicago bulls of the league)
I know this will never happen, but I'd really like to see Francis, Cat, and other Rockets go to meet and greet Yao since he is here in the US. With the entire US team talking down on him, it would be nice for Yao to know there are other NBA players who will support him outside of Vince Carter. As for NBA players hating on Yao, I've always thought that people will run their mouth about somebody because they are scared of that person. A confident player would just shut his mouth and play the game with some class, and people wonder why NBA players have such a bad reputation.
i dont think its racism. i think its xenophobia.. i think theres a difference... they dont like him because hes from another country and hes blowing up and stealing pub as he decends on the united states game. i think its a usa pride thing... i dont think theyd hate him if he was usa home grown and happened to be asian...
Nobody hates Yao. It is a combination of a few things: 1. He is a highly-anticipated first round draft choice and they always make targets. Every number one pick with a lot of buzz gets this treatment. It is nothing new. 2. He is a center. Centers, particularly in this center-lite league, are unique and players gun after them more than any other. 3. He is mega tall. Because of his stature, the only comparisons people can make are to Shawn Bradley or Manute Bol. There is a decent chance that he will re-define how we view people of his height. It won't take much to improve upon those who have come before him at his size. 4. Lack of knowledge of him as a player. Most guys in the league just don't know that much about him, but he has hype so they want to prove they can play well against him. 5. He is a threat. As not only a new big man in the league and as a foreign-born player, but also a potential marquee image for the NBA's world marketing efforts, he threatens to steal some of those precious marketing and endorsement dollars. Until he becomes a full-fleged NBA player, he is going to be more of a big giant question mark to players than just one of the guys. As long as he has some air of mystery, they will be threatened by him and do everything they can to protect their turf.
Nick, You are RIGHT ON MAN! The league is a joke collectively! Isaiah, Magic and Bird all left the league too early. It diluted the talent pool and caused an influx of "wana-be Jordans" during the 90's. I mean, remember during the mid-90's, all you heard Dicky-V say, "Ohhhhh baaabeeee! Jerry Stackhouse, he's the next Jordan!!!!' Or, "Ooohhh Man! Harold Miner!!! Baby Jordan!!!" Then, everyone wanted Grant Hill to come in and take the mantle from Jordan. It never happened. Isaiah, Magic and Bird would have forced these young pups that couldn't play out of the league. But when all three of those player prematurely left the game, the NBA was looking for replacements too fast!!!! I mean, look...what do we have today? A BIG SHAQ and a "I-wanabe-like Mike, Kobe Bryant." Sigh...Thank God for Mike Bibbi. At lease someone knows how to play the game the way it should be played.
Thats exactly what I was telling my friends today. I mean WTF is Ben Wallace to talk trash?!?! There is one good center playing in the league. When someone like Ben Wallace is able to talk trash you know the league is in trouble. Kareem, Hakeem, David, Ewing, Shaq, Zo? Umm...no Shaq, LaFrentz, Ben Wallace, Vlade Yeah these b****es better talk all the trash they want now, cause in about two years Ming will be running circles on these freakin joke ass centers.
I think it's more about the unknown factor than racism. Some of the US players did give Ming compliments after they have actually seen him played tonight. "He earned our respect," Mavericks guard Michael Finley said. "To play against him was eye-opening. He was a lot better than I thought." "After he turns and scores in your mug a couple of times, you have to try something else," Antonio Davis said. "I think he did a good job under the circumstances. There's a lot of pressure on him and he handled it pretty well." "He blew away my expectations with the way he played," Williams said.
Since 1975, every single NBA number one draft pick has been black. The Rockets broke a 27 year old streak by drafting Ming number one. But I'm sure that has nothing to do with it...... BTW the last white player taken number one was Bill Walton. Raven
Kent Benson isn't black. I think the mystery has more to do with all the #1 picks except for Kwame Brown having all been proven college stars. Everyone got to see Iverson, Duncan, Hakeem, etc. Nobody knows much about Yao.
