I know that the NBA does online voting for the NBA all-stars. Now, when Ming is playing for us next year, is there actually a chance that China single handedly votes enough times for Ming to push him over Shaq for the starting center position for the All-Star game. How great would that be. I think most houstonians, most asians in america, and all of China would vote for Ming. He would definitely start over Shaq. That would be great.
Is it possible that all of the chinese vote for Yao's teammates? Would the NBA allow the starting 5 of the Rockets to represent the Western conference?
The vote number won't be hugh. There are not many fans loving basketball, Yao Ming, in the same time to have the access to internet and notice the poll. internet population: USA is twice of China. Basketball fan population: USA is 10 times of China. English reading population: USA is 100 times of China. Asian is still a minority on this issue.
lol! I never thought of that... "... and now starting for your Western Conference All-Stars... The Houstooooooooooon Roooooockeeeeeeeeetsssss!!!"
There is an official NBA Chinese site for those who can't read English... and once Yao is in the NBA, basketball fan population in China will no doubt grow. Plus there are also almost 100 million Chinese living outside China with a decent percentage of those who can read English and have access to the Internet. Not saying Yao will definitely topple Shaq in votes, but if he has decent start to the season, he is not without a chance -G'day-
This really is a funny topic. And I didn't start thinking about that scenario until a few days ago, but it is funny. Who knows if it could happen but it is funny to think about. Forget the all stars being all rockets, just think how funny it would be that Ming could get more votes that Shaq. That would be hilarious! Chris
There's no way Shaq doesn't win the vote again next year. I think Ming will get a lot votes if he isn't a bust, but i think a lot of that will be due to non basketball stuff, the curiosity of fans over here. It comes down to who the coaches will select out of these 4 guys: Ming- if he has a good year, Kandi- Keeps getting better and espn said he is the only guy who can bang with shaq, Divac-hasn't he been there the last 2 years? Robinson- One of the 50 greatest is retiring, not many coaches would feel good about themselves if they didn't pick him. Of course there's always the possibility that Shaq will be hurt and won't play in the all-star game, that would give Ming a slot no doubt because he would be the 2nd highest vote getter.
Oski, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't first team all star selected by the fans? Second team is selected by coaches? Thats my understanding. If true, Ming would have a huge jump start on Shaq cause there are more Asians with internet access than is commenly thought. just my .02
When did I say that the coaches select the first team? The 4 guys I said the coaches would pick from are the non starters. Where is windandsea when you need him, didn't he say that even though the chinese are increasing in internet users, they still don't have as many people online as we do. Ming is Chinese first, asian second. Are people in Japan and other countries going to pick Ming because he is Asian? That's like saying black people only pick Shaq because he is black. Shaq hasn't just won the center vote, he leads all western conference players in all-star votes. Even though the fans don't always pick the best players, who really deserves to be the starter? The guy who is the best and until he retires, Shaq will always be the best center. Also, a lot of votes come from the fans in the arena and casual fans on the internet. The arena people know something about the game and will pick Shaq, and casual fans don't know much about Ming but do know who shaq is. Either way, Ming will be there for all-star weekend, at the rookie game.
I thought the NBA controlled who you can vote for over the internet. If Ming is not starting, maybe they won't select him as one of the centers you can vote for.
would they vote wang and the guy from denver too? If they vote ming in there, most likely it will be underesving esp with shaq. So i wouldnt they vote for their other chineese stars. Id think so
michah--each individual team nominates their own players to be on the ballot...So whoever the Rockets pick will be on the all star ballot on NBA.com
That statement right there shows why ESPN needs new writers. There is not a player in the league who can bang with Shaq. Least of all an underachieving, unmotivated player like Kandi. Kandi is nothing more than Cato with incentive ( see Cato got his big contract and has been on cruise control since, Kandi wants his turn now ).
I'd think not. Wang is no where near the popularity that Ming has. Ming has been closely watched since he was 16 years old. Its a big deal now that he is coming to the NBA. One other point: I understand that China may not have that many internet users. But, if there are 1 million fans from China that have the internet, then there is a chance that Ming could start. Plus, 1 million is nothing when you consider China's vast population.
But the essential part of the equation is how many people are there in China who care about Ming, care about the NBA, and have access?
Ming is one of the best known athletes in China. 5 years ago, if you go ask Chinese teenagers who their sport hero is, most of them will tell you it's Michael Jordan. Although the Internet penetration in China are still relatively low, they still have one of the largest numbers of Internet users in the world, and it's growing fast. -G'day-
There are 56 million internet users in China (not including overseas Chinese) as of April 2002, a 150% growth from 2001. That means, by January of 2003, it's not impossible to guesstimate 80-90 million Chinese internet users. Of these, probably a good 50% are young urban males, the most likely to be Yao Ming supporters. But I don't think many will blindly vote if they don't believe he's come close to deserving it. But I agree with a previous poster... if Yao Ming gets off to a good start (say, 15/10), he'll give Shaq a good run. I think the odds are against it though, since I still think he'll be crippled by foul problems the first few months.
Thats were my confusion came from, you didn't say one way or the other. You talked about Shaq winning it and then started in about 4 other guys.... I couldn't tell from your post that you were talking about second team. Thats not what I meant. Maybe I should have said Chinese instead. Doesn't matter..the point is still valid. If you were a fan over in China and the biggest (best) player in your country was in the NBA , would you vote for him regardless of how he was playin? From what some of our new posters across the pond have posted..I gather that lots of fans over there would. I was just making a generalization based on that possibility... I'm not arguing that...I believe that Shaq should win it...but will he? Thats the question being discussed here true...except not all fans at the arenas vote based on logical reasoning such as most here would, it's basically a popularity contest with the casual fan. Example.... let's say Franchise was hurt for most of the season(god forbid) and hadn't played but a couple of games, would you still vote for him to be on the all star team even tho he hadn't been the best PG in the league to that point in the season simply based on the fact that he is a Rocket? I believe lots of fans do vote that way.. and thats why the best in the league at their position don't always make it onto the all star team...
