FIBA Basketball
Yao less popular in China...
[by Mark Nilrad] - What is T-Mac's signature move? A couple of dribbles between the legs, maybe a behind the back for good measure, and then a contested jumper from 25 feet. Kobe? A drive, a pull-up, fake, and then a double-teamed fadeaway. Yao? A simple turnaround fadeaway from 12 feet. Whose moves are practiced on the public courts? Is that the reason that Yao Ming is fifth on the list of jerseys sold in China?
What is T-Mac's signature move? A couple of dribbles between the legs, maybe a behind the back for good measure, and then a contested jumper from 25 feet. Kobe? A drive, a pull-up, fake, and then a double-teamed fadeaway. Yao? A simple turnaround fadeaway from 12 feet. Whose moves are practiced on the public courts? Is that the reason that Yao Ming is fifth on the list of jerseys sold in China?
Fifth? Indeed. Even if my own personal experience, in Hong Kong, during Yao Ming's five-year career, I have seen only two or three people wearing his jersey. There have been uniforms of Jordan, Bryant, Iverson, even Marbury, but no Yao to be seen. Granted, Hong Kong isn't quite the basketball hotbed the mainland is, but still.
But, woah, wait a minute, you might say. Yao's the face of China's sport, the ambassador of Chinese culture, of Chinese basketball, of Chinese everything. He is the perfect citizen. Aren't fans being unpatriotic?
Some people are wondering that very thing, so Henry Abbot, who pens True Hoop over at ESPN, recently devoted a full post about the very subject, and his final conclusion was this:
"When Yao Ming proves that he is the best in the NBA, when he's an MVP, when he's the most transcendent player on the floor, then he'll sell a lot more jerseys in China and everywhere else there are NBA fans. Until then? It's not like Yao's not feeling the love. He's still selling more jerseys in China than Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, and Gilbert Arenas."
Hmm…you could say that was partially correct. But if Yao's going to become more popular after winning MVPs and titles, what about Tim Duncan, who has won, among numerous awards, three championship rings, three Finals MVPs, and two regular-season MVPs, yet is only eighth on the list?
Of course, the practical reason for Yao Ming's fall is that everyone in China now has Yao's jersey. But there's another reason that not only is his jersey becoming unpopular, but his play itself. In a recent SI article detailing Yao's evolution, Chinese writer Wang Meng was quoted as saying that "There are now lots of Yao haters in China", and later added that about 30% of fans in China did not support Yao. That's a surprising number indeed, considering Yao is normally portrayed as a demi-god.
But take a look at the five players ahead of Yao on the sales list. Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Dwyane Wade, and Lebron James. Is it any coincidence that those players regularly make the daily Top 10 on NBA TV? Any Yao fan can tell you that Yao Ming never makes that top 10, unless he's on the receiving end of a nasty dunk or block (Nate Robinson, anyone?). It's the T-Mac pull-up, the AI crossover, and the Kobe fadeaway that fans all over China are seeking to emulate, and the fundamental things in basketball are receding to the background.
However, it's obvious this tendency to imitate the superstars without practicing the basics is what is slowly poisoning USA Basketball. So isn't the same thing going to bring the demise of Chinese hoops?
Somewhat ironically, supporting more inventiveness is actually better for the future of Chinese basketball. Staid, regulated play is still the way to play in China, and creativity is still suppressed, at least somewhat. A good example of this was during the CBA Finals, when Li Qun, the head coach of Guangdong Tigers, frequently rotated point guards Chen Jianghua and Liu Xiaoyu, who were both young and non-traditional in their play, out of the game, or did not play them at all. This strategy was one of the biggest reasons that Bayi Rockets upset the Tigers in five games. Contrast this to the national team, when last year, facing Greece in the knockout stages, head coach Jonas Kazlauskas had the confidence to play Chen 17 minutes against the full-court, pressing defense of the Greek players.
Think of it this way - America has advanced from point A to B by emphasizing individual play, but to go further, or even to avoid regressing back to A, they now need to emphasize fundamentals. China, on the other hand is still on point A, so to advance they need to emphasize, not wild, uncontrolled basketball, but certainly creativity and spontaneity. China is advancing in many ways, but it's one more example to show they still have a long way to go.
Fifth? Indeed. Even if my own personal experience, in Hong Kong, during Yao Ming's five-year career, I have seen only two or three people wearing his jersey. There have been uniforms of Jordan, Bryant, Iverson, even Marbury, but no Yao to be seen. Granted, Hong Kong isn't quite the basketball hotbed the mainland is, but still.
But, woah, wait a minute, you might say. Yao's the face of China's sport, the ambassador of Chinese culture, of Chinese basketball, of Chinese everything. He is the perfect citizen. Aren't fans being unpatriotic?
Some people are wondering that very thing, so Henry Abbot, who pens True Hoop over at ESPN, recently devoted a full post about the very subject, and his final conclusion was this:
"When Yao Ming proves that he is the best in the NBA, when he's an MVP, when he's the most transcendent player on the floor, then he'll sell a lot more jerseys in China and everywhere else there are NBA fans. Until then? It's not like Yao's not feeling the love. He's still selling more jerseys in China than Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, and Gilbert Arenas."
Hmm…you could say that was partially correct. But if Yao's going to become more popular after winning MVPs and titles, what about Tim Duncan, who has won, among numerous awards, three championship rings, three Finals MVPs, and two regular-season MVPs, yet is only eighth on the list?
Of course, the practical reason for Yao Ming's fall is that everyone in China now has Yao's jersey. But there's another reason that not only is his jersey becoming unpopular, but his play itself. In a recent SI article detailing Yao's evolution, Chinese writer Wang Meng was quoted as saying that "There are now lots of Yao haters in China", and later added that about 30% of fans in China did not support Yao. That's a surprising number indeed, considering Yao is normally portrayed as a demi-god.
But take a look at the five players ahead of Yao on the sales list. Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Dwyane Wade, and Lebron James. Is it any coincidence that those players regularly make the daily Top 10 on NBA TV? Any Yao fan can tell you that Yao Ming never makes that top 10, unless he's on the receiving end of a nasty dunk or block (Nate Robinson, anyone?). It's the T-Mac pull-up, the AI crossover, and the Kobe fadeaway that fans all over China are seeking to emulate, and the fundamental things in basketball are receding to the background.
However, it's obvious this tendency to imitate the superstars without practicing the basics is what is slowly poisoning USA Basketball. So isn't the same thing going to bring the demise of Chinese hoops?
Somewhat ironically, supporting more inventiveness is actually better for the future of Chinese basketball. Staid, regulated play is still the way to play in China, and creativity is still suppressed, at least somewhat. A good example of this was during the CBA Finals, when Li Qun, the head coach of Guangdong Tigers, frequently rotated point guards Chen Jianghua and Liu Xiaoyu, who were both young and non-traditional in their play, out of the game, or did not play them at all. This strategy was one of the biggest reasons that Bayi Rockets upset the Tigers in five games. Contrast this to the national team, when last year, facing Greece in the knockout stages, head coach Jonas Kazlauskas had the confidence to play Chen 17 minutes against the full-court, pressing defense of the Greek players.
Think of it this way - America has advanced from point A to B by emphasizing individual play, but to go further, or even to avoid regressing back to A, they now need to emphasize fundamentals. China, on the other hand is still on point A, so to advance they need to emphasize, not wild, uncontrolled basketball, but certainly creativity and spontaneity. China is advancing in many ways, but it's one more example to show they still have a long way to go.