China's center Yao Ming, who
plays for the Houston Rockets, has been favored by basketball experts to be the
player most likely to succeed Germany's Dirk Nowitzki as the best international
player in the league.
Sports broadcaster ESPN asked some top NBA writers to weigh in with their
thoughts about the next international megastar most likely to carry Dirk
Nowitzki's mantle. Two of the writers chose Yao Ming as their favourites.
Chris Sheridan, who covers the NBA and international basketball for the
magazine ESPN Insider, said he sticks with his choice of Yao Ming.
Chris Sheridan: "I've got to stick with the choice of the past half-decade,
Yao Ming. He only turned 26 a few days ago, and he can still become the most
dominant center we've seen since Hakeem (Olajuwon, NBA legend center who also
used to play for the Rockets) if he hits his prime in the next four or five
seasons.
"If he and Tracy McGrady could ever be paired completely healthy for 82
games, especially now with Shane Battier in the mix, this could easily be a
55-win team that could advance in the playoffs, and Yao would probably supplant
Dirk in this category if he could take Houston to the Finals two years in a
row."
John Denton, basketball writer of Florida Today, shared the same views as
Chris Sheridan. He thought last season's back injury to McGrady forced Yao to
unearth his full power.
John Denton: "As strange as it might sound to Rockets fans, last season's
back injury to McGrady might have been the best thing to happen to the Rockets
in the long run.
"Without McGrady dominating the ball, the offense ran through the hands of
Yao. It forced him to assert himself and seek out shots rather than defer to
others. And the results were sometimes jaw-dropping.
"In March and April, he averaged 25.5 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting
55 percent from the floor. He had a 20-game stretch late in the season where he
scored at least 20 points 19 times and grabbed double-digit rebounds 17 times.
He had back-to-back 36-point efforts against Dallas and New Jersey and hung 25
points and 17 rebounds on Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman.
"No, Yao will never have the physical force of Shaquille O'Neal or play with
the fiery emotion of Alonzo Mourning. But what he just might do as his game
continues to grow and his confidence continues to rise is revolutionize the way
the position is played. His ability to hit the mid-range shot, hit free throws
and hit back against those who try to hammer him on the lower block will help
make Yao the game's best center long after Shaq retires."
The experts' opinions have elicited positive responses from fans.
"Yao is the only one I would say that is really in any position to rival Dirk
in the next few years," a basketball fan from Toronto replied.
Yao has also topped the center's chart at the NBA fantasy games where fans
from around the world pick up their favorite players to form their own teams for
online games. (click for more information: Yao Preferred Center of NBA Fantasy
Games)
Serbia and Montenegro's Darko Milicic, drafted second overall in the 2003 NBA
Draft who just turned 21 this summer and Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Greece, who
earned his fame at the recent World Championships in Japan, are the other two
favorites.
