It is amazing to see how far Yao Ming has gone since coming into the United States. Although he has not been that absolute dominating player in the NBA that some people may have expected, he still has lots of room to grow. But even more important, is what he has done for the Asian community. He has become a hero to many, and is huge for business. With China having such a huge population, expanding the NBA international to China is huge for the market.
Where there are lots of people, that usually means money. This is exactly the case for the NBA and Yao Ming. The NBA is very smart in that it is making many steps towards bringing a bigger fan base to China. There are over 2 billion television stations in China, and marketing the NBA and Yao Ming to China will bring the NBA lots of money. Yao really is the perfect thing for the NBA.
Not only does Yao open the door for Chinese basketball players, but he also opens the door for other international players. To me, I love international basketball players; their competetiveness beats almost any American player in my opinion. This is great for the NBA. It gives them the chance to really expand globally. Something that differentiates the NBA from other professional sports leagues, is its willingness to market all over the world. It has players from literally every nation.
Unfortunately for Yao, in my opinion, he has not put up the numbers he is capable of. He has so much potential. I mean, anyone does who is 7 feet, 6 inches tall. But with height that great, it makes it difficult for him to run the court. He visibly is more exhausted than other players out there, and I can guarantee you it is not because he does not work as hard. But the important thing is that no matter what kind of numbers he puts out onto the basketball court, he is an inspiration for not only the NBA, but for other international players who have the same goals and aspirations as Yao does.
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Mike,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Yao not reaching his full potential and how the NBA is smart for marketing the NBA in China, the world's largest country. Although I do not follow Yao closely, I support him and wish him well. Hopefully his best days are ahead of him. He is extremely marketable for television commercials and various forms of advertisements and his exposure is a great start to merging two different cultures.
I agree he doesn't play to his potential but I don't think he ever will because he is way to nice of a guy and does not have that killer instinct that players need. He is easily pushed around and he does nothing back. So what we see out of Yao is all we are going to get. If he ever comes back on American soil. HIs foot injury is pretty serious!
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