Where is yao ming originally from

At an early age, Ming towered over his fellow schoolmates, and by the age of 12, he would participate in heavily competitive basketball academies in his community. In five seasons with the team, Ming would play games and score over 3, points.

He would also devour almost 2, offensive and defensive rebounds combined, which helped contribute to his status as a national icon of China.

On one hand it has become the world's second-highest-paying basketball league. Beyond competitive salaries, though, pretty much everything else needed an upgrade when Yao assumed control—a task one CBA staffer compares with renovating a rundown apartment complex while the residents are still living inside.

As Yao did with the national program, though, he has already tackled a wide range of league issues in short order. To ramp up visibility and competition, he increased the regular season from 36 to 46 games and expanded the playoff field from 10 to 12 of the league's 20 teams. He sold broadcast rights to a dozen TV stations, plus two streaming services. Nine team logos and four nicknames were revamped. And the postseason awards were named after influential figures in Chinese basketball history, while the trophies themselves were redesigned.

Until last season the league used generic prizes purchased online. Still, certain matters lack quick fixes. In the draft only 14 domestic university players were selected. It helps that Yao has good connections whenever he needs help.

One of Yao's earliest meetings after taking over was held at the Manhattan office of David Stern, where he chatted up the old NBA commish for nearly three hours over chicken sandwiches. He does not have the same economic liberties that a business in the U. Resources, too. We're far away from that, but it's nice to have a long-term goal. Such possibilities depend on a long-standing relationship built around mutual admiration. For Silver's part, he got to know Yao when, as president of NBA Entertainment, he executive-produced a documentary capturing Yao's first season.

Silver recalls a gathering at the NBA's inaugural Global Games in China, a trip that offered a first look at the same internal forces that still drive Yao today. Yao, then 24, had been asked to address a large, diverse group of NBA players and Chinese bureaucrats.

He was so overwhelmed by the moment. But he made a decision: I'm going to embrace it. And I'm going to accept this obligation—maybe sometimes a burden—to be the transformational person I believe I can be. In the very real land of Beijing, a hero wanders Each day around lunch-time at least when he's working from the federation office Yao heads out for a stroll around a small lake at the center of the nearby park.

I ask if he wants to take that walk today and he shakes his head. People surround us. Aside from light cardio, Yao doesn't exercise much these days. He can't remember the last time he played basketball though a CBA colleague reports witnessing him casually drain nine of 10 free throws—with one hand—while visiting a national team practice. His explanation for quitting hoops is typically self-deprecating: "Me?

No, no, no, no. I'm too fat. The same reason he declined to be honored at center court during the Global Games last fall. The same reason he no longer autographs basketballs. For Yao this job has created something of a personal paradox.

After so many years of attracting gawkers whenever he sets foot outside, he's aching to recede from the spotlight. I want one of those. Before Yao Ming can disappear, he must first figure out how Chinese basketball can produce more Yao Mings.

The committee is sending mixed messages on the importance of head-to-head results. The Bearcats inch closer to making the playoff field, while the Wolverines curiously jump the Spartans. The lawsuit says otherwise. The second College Football Playoff rankings of the season have been released with the Bulldogs remaining at No. Sports Illustrated has obtained video of comments made by the Suns owner in April. The Suns owner was accused in a recent report of racist and misogynistic behavior. Home NBA.

SI Recommends. College Basketball. By Molly Geary. College Football. Larmer said Yao, China's first successful basketball export and its most famous face worldwide, was the product of a harsh and antiquated program which has changed little since it was set up more than 50 years ago under Mao Zedong. Larmer says Yao's birth had been anticipated for decades by communist officials - desperate to boost national pride through sports - who had been tracking his family for two generations.

He describes a system where doctors armed with special growth-predicting manuals measure youngsters' bones and pubic hair to identify future athletes.

Weightlifters must be squat with strong torsos; divers need tiny hips to minimise splash; basketball players must simply be tall. Yao's grandfather, one of Shanghai's tallest men, was discovered too late for basketball but his son, the cm Yao Zhiyuan, soon found himself dragged into the sports system. There he was paired off with the cm Fang Fengdi, China's women's captain who had been a feared Red Guard during the murderous Cultural Revolution.

The two were encouraged to marry in a system with undertones of eugenics, the controversial gene-pool manipulation espoused by the Nazis and previously trumpeted by Beijing.