Yao Ming

When Yao Ming came to the United States from China, he was completely lost. In his first year in the NBA he recieved a lot of criticism from fans because of his lack of power and dunking abilities at his height, 7'6". Even though he's had problems with hecklers in the stands, Yao worked through it and now is on his way to becoming one of the top centers in the NBA.

Yao is constantly working on different parts of his game to become a better basketball player. From hook-shots to dunks, Yao is working on a daily basis to better every area of his game. Ming is a 7'6" superstar. The media loves Yao and are always surrounding him. He once said that "The media is probally the hardest thing to get used to being a NBA basketball player in America." Slowly but surely he is learning.

The Houston Rockets is the only NBA team Yao has played for his entire career. He is still young and very athletic. I beleive that within the next few years Yao has the potential to become one of the best centers in the NBA. If he continues to push his abilities, in the next 2 to 3 years Yao could be placed into the same catogory as the great centers of the leaugue such as Shaq, Chamberlain, Kareem, and David Robinson.

Yao does not have any championship rings yet but he will come across a few if he continues to strive to become a better superstar. As of 2007 Yao has adapted well to the speed and strength of the NBA players and has found his roll on the Houston Rockets as the jump shooter center, big man, and big slammer. One can only expect that with time, Yao will be as famous as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson. This is my sports hero, Yao Ming, a rising NBA athlete.

Despite his lack of speed and strength compared to other NBA Centers, Yao uses his height and shooting abilities to dominate the paint and free throw area against the best of centers. From now on when you think of centers in the NBA, you think of Shaq, Hakeem, Chamberlain, Wallace, Yao Ming.