Pioneer profiles: Yao Ming: The Superhuman Success Story
Let’s talk about that! Series 2, Article 1
When we see someone at the peak of their powers excelling at their chosen craft, it’s often said they were born to do it. In the case of the giant 7’5 Yao Ming, to say that he was literally born to play basketball would be more than just a cliché.
Ming was the long-awaited product of China’s attempt to reach sporting success in the basketball arena. His parents were arranged to be married by the government as a result of their extreme height and exceptional sporting prowess and from a very young age Ming was set aside for training as a potential elite basketballer. In this sense, he was literally an experiment in creating the ultimate basketball superstar.
What makes Yao Ming a wonderful success story is the fact that he stuck to his task and accepted his duty despite extreme pressure and hardship. Through persistence and diligence, he turned a task he loathed into a pastime he loved, and provided a vital diplomatic bridge between the United States and China during his time with the Houston Rockets in the top-flight NBA.
According to Brook Lamer, who authored the excellent book “Operation Yao Ming” China’s attempt to create the perfect basketballer began with Chairman Mao in the 1950s (1). China had already experienced remarkable success in table tennis, but Mao and his minister for sport, He Long, wished to see the country excel at the three “Big Ball” sports-soccer, volleyball and basketball, which was introduced to China via the YMCA.
The government scouted the country for the land’s best male and female basketballers, and set up specialised basketball academies for this talent to attend, much in the same way Brisbane’s Li Cunxin attended a national ballet academy in Beijing at a young age. Both of Yao Ming’s parents were excellent basketball players and, as aforementioned, the government arranged for their marriage as they were the two tallest athletes in the Shanghai system. Less than a year later, China finally had their prize, one that would put their nation on the map half a world away in one of the toughest professional sports leagues on earth.
As they stated in Ming’s excellent biopic, Year of the Yao, his parents didn’t want him to follow the path the government had set out for him. Initially, neither did Yao (2). He was clumsy and struggled with the game in his first few years, preferring instead to dream of being an archaeologist.
With hard work and the aid of some (perhaps unethical) growth supplements from the government (3), Ming honed his game to the point where he became a key part of the Shanghai Sharks and dominated the Chinese Basketball Association, as he averaged nearly 35 points and 20 rebounds per game.
Soon he was the leading player in the competition and an excellent prospect as a centre for the 2002 NBA draft. There was initially some reluctance from the Chinese government to release Ming from the CBA, but after receiving reassurances from the Houston Rockets that he would be drafted on the first pick, Ming was given the green light to enter a new world (1).
Armed only with a young, nervous translator, his parents and a set of skills from an entirely different country and playing style, Ming initially struggled in his first few games in the NBA. The NBA’s leading centre at the time, the legendary Shaquille O’ Neal, delivered a now infamous racist rant on live television, making karate sounds and calling Ming “Wang Zu or whatever your name is. (4)”
The outspoken power forward turned media pundit Charles Barkley also didn’t believe Ming had what it took to succeed in the NBA, saying he would kiss co-host Kenny Smith’s “ass” if Ming scored 20 points in a single game (5).
Not only did Ming do so, scoring 20 points against the LA Lakers in Shaq’s absence, he also dominated Shaq during their first on court battle. Ming blocked Shaq’s first three shots and scored a crucial final-minute basket as Houston won by 4 points.
Ming’s career was cut short by injury, but Shaq showed he had immense respect for his rival when he in 2011 said, “If not for all those injuries, he could have been one of the top five centers ever to play the game (6).” Ming’s career nonetheless makes for impressive reading. Players well over 7 foot had usually struggled with clumsiness in the NBA. Big men such as Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan are testament to this fact- they had big height and even bigger expectations, but failed to live up to the hype. With Ming though, it was different. When he was fit, he was nimble and agile but also incredibly strong. His power and height made him impossible to defend in the post, and his long reach made his midrange jumpers incredibly effective, and he also shot a remarkable 83% from the free throw line (7).
The fact Ming was also an eight time All-Star and an eventual Hall of Famer was testament to both his skill and popularity in China and America. He was seen as a vital diplomatic bridge between the two nations, and this, for me, is what is remarkable about his story.
It can understandably feel horribly dehumanising to be a guinea pig in a national experiment, but through hard work, Ming was able to turn a chore he loathed into a career he loved. He adjusted wonderfully to American NBA culture as a popular teammate, and represented his nation with dignity, even in the face of doubt and racism.
In his Hall of Fame induction speech two years ago, Yao Ming said that basketball had inspired him (8). As someone who literally came into this earth just to play the sport, accepted his role with dignity and unbegrudgingly, and brought millions of new fans to the game, it’s not hard to argue that he inspired the basketball world too.
References:
1. Operation Yao Ming, Lamar, Brook, 2005, Gotham Books (Penguin Group)
2. The Year of the Yao, 2005, https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0759YQ9X3/ref=msx_wn_av retrieved 09/11/2018
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSxpqoTyoKQ Korzemba, Mike, retrieved 09/11/2018
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PhWo09sr4E retrieved 10/11/2018
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOK0mVRPfdk&t=31s retrieved 10/11/2018
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjP0806a1Qg retrieved 10/11/2018
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjdh4STWuNk&t=283s Andy Hoops, retrieved 10/11/2018
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvAd7hbjzCs NBA, retrieved 10/11/2018
