A New Kind of Ming Dynasty

Of all the potential first-round draft picks in NBA history, there never has been one like Yao Ming. He’s 7-foot-5, but he thinks it’s unsportsmanlike to dunk.

He wants an NBA career as much as any American who leaves school early, but when he was approached to defect last year to enter the draft, he refused out of loyalty to his country.

Yao is the most talented basketball player produced by China’s state-run sports schools, which should come as no surprise because his parents were national icons in the sport. Now the prodigy bears the weight of great historical and cultural expectations as he attempts the delicate coupling of China’s communist system with the NBA’s unbridled capitalism.

There’s no question Yao easily is the best big man in this year’s draft. No one is expecting the next coming of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Shaquille O’Neal. But Rle (pronounced AR-lee) Nichols, who coached Yao four years ago on a tour of the U.S. high school all-star circuit, said Yao’s skills are “way ahead” of the last true giant to make it, 7-6 Shawn Bradley.

Nichols said Yao responded well to the competition faced by the Nike-sponsored High-Five America team. In one game, he went against center Tyson Chandler, who was drafted straight out of high school by the Chicago Bulls with the second pick last year.

“Yao Ming took one of Chandler’s stuffs and stuck it about 15 rows in the stands,” Nichols said. “At that time, he didn’t have a low-post game, but his turnaround jumper was not bad. His hands are very good, and he really takes care of the defense because he’s a very good shot-blocker.”

There was just one cultural clash between Nichols and Yao. “‘I had to force him to dunk,” Nichols said. “I’d make him run if he didn’t. He said, ‘That’s not respectful.’”

Laughing at the mention of Yao’s reluctance to dunk, a person closely associated with him said: “That’s right. He still agonizes over the issue. He’s a very clean player who rarely retaliates to hard fouls. I think he should be more assertive, but he’s definitely playing a tougher game because he’s such a prominent target in China.”

As a likely top-two pick in the June 26 NBA draft, Yao’s play has been thoroughly analyzed by all 13 teams entered in the May 19 draft lottery. Yao was to be under the microscope again Wednesday in his only predraft workout in front of a bevy of executives, scouts and media at Loyola University in Chicago. Former Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy was expected to run the workout but was replaced by former Warrior coach P.J. Carlesimo.

But the questions most teams want answered have more to do with politics than post moves. Yao comes with a lot of red tape.

The Chinese government recently issued regulations that would require Yao to hand over more than 50 percent of his salary and endorsement earnings to a variety of government and sports authorities in China. The team drafting Yao also may be expected to make a substantial payment to the Shanghai Sharks, whom he led to the China Basketball Association title, and to develop a continuing relationship through clinics and exhibition games.

An Eastern Conference general manager who watched Yao play with the Chinese national team in the Dallas summer league last year said: “He’s a good player with unique size and talent, and he’s very coordinated. It’s going to take him a while to get used to the NBA game, but he’ll be good. ... He’s better than all the American big men, but you’re going to have to know what all is involved if you draft him.”

Details of the Chinese government’s demands almost certainly are negotiable because of its need to display a more open society after being admitted to the World Trade Organization and winning the 2008 Olympics for Beijing. Still, Yao must perform a high-wire act balancing his country’s interests with those of his future team.

“Yao Ming’s sense of destiny and responsibility is very strong,” said his close associate, who requested anonymity to avoid further complicating matters in China. “A year ago, there were people trying to entice him to defect. He flat-out refused and told me never to contact that party again.

“He takes his responsibility to the national team very seriously. It’s a great honor to represent his country. He never expressed any hope for commercial benefit from basketball. He asks what I think of his jump shot or tells me what NBA scouts said about his hook shot. He knows whoever picks him is making a great investment in what is perceived as a very large risk. He wants to do his best to make sure they spend their money wisely.”

Much has been made of the interest a Shanghai Sharks official expressed in steering Yao to New York, Chicago or Golden State in the Bay Area, three large-market teams with substantial Asian communities. The Bulls and Warriors each have a 22.5-percent chance of winning the lottery, and the Knicks have only a 4.4-percent chance. That means there’s a 50.6-percent chance Yao will wind up someplace else, such as Memphis, Denver, Houston or Cleveland.

Yao’s associate confirmed the Sharks’ interest in the Bulls, Warriors or Knicks, saying: “On the business side, the club hopes that’s the case, but this is not totally for the revenue they could generate. Those three cities all have very large Chinese populations, so they think the transition will be easier for Yao Ming. I have to speak up for the club on that. Of course, this is a business, but their primary concern is the welfare of the player. They know their interests are tied to Yao Ming’s performance in the NBA.

“As for Yao Ming personally, I can say that he doesn’t care. The NBA is a paradise for him. I don’t think he would make a strong distinction between the cities he doesn’t even know very well.”

Yao, who will turn 22 Sept. 12, has spent nearly all his time since the age of 13 in a state-run sports school, preparing for this moment. As his associate said: “He’s been living, sleeping and breathing basketball in a closed environment. ... Yao is definitely someone with a lot of appreciation for the opportunity he’s getting. He’s not one with a superstar mentality.”

In the past year, Yao spent barely a week with his parents because of the demands of the Sharks and the national team. Both played for China in the 1970s, and they understand his mission. His father once played center for the Sharks, and his mother was national team captain and was considered among the premier centers in the world. Now, their only child is anxious to go them one better in basketball’s most competitive arena.

“I think he will enjoy the United States,” Yao’s associate said. “To be able to live free on his own will be big. It doesn’t matter where he is.”

When he visited Nike headquarters in Portland, Ore., Yao was impressed by the clean air and water in Oregon. “When reporters asked him what he thought of America,” Nichols said, “he said, ‘You have so much room.’”

As they toured America by van, the 17-year-old Yao’s quiet sense of mission impressed Nichols. “He didn’t talk much about playing in the NBA,’ Nichols said. “His interest was in developing an NBA team in China. He has a real pride in his country.”

Yao’s league statistics are mind-boggling. He shot more than 70 percent from the field and better than 80 percent on free throws.

Whatever expectations most lottery picks have for themselves are multiplied by 1.3 billion Chinese hoping for Yao’s NBA success. “‘Yao Ming looks at this as a challenge,” his associate said. “He knows he’s not the best in the world. He’s far from being a polished player, but he once told me his job is to win games.

“The Nobel Prize will find its scientists; Oscar will find its actors, but Yao’s duty and responsibility is to win games for his clubs and be the best that he can be to make his country proud. If he feels the pressure, he probably welcomes it.”