Yao Ming Breaking Barriers between the NBA and China

Yao Ming Breaking the Barrier Between the Chinese Basketball Market and the NBA
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Yao Ming Breaking the Barrier Between the Chinese Basketball Market and the NBA
Introduction
Yao Ming is one of the towering figures who has graced the National Basketball Association (NAB) League. Notably, his joining of the NBA became a symbol of pride, a mark that broke the longstanding barriers between China and America. He was a representation of China as an emerging sporting giant. In the history of the NBA, Yao Ming is one of the greatest players to have ever played in the NBA. His retirement came early after suffering from numerous injuries, and he announced his retirement when he was just 30 years old. His contribution to the games was outstanding, a very skilled shooter who assisted the Rockets to reach the playoffs four times. In history books, Yao Ming will be recorded as the first Chinese player to succeed in the American most-loved sports. Moreover, his engagement in the league also popularized the NBA within China. Yao Ming broke the barrier between the Chinese basketball market and the NBA by being the first Chinese basketball player to be drafted in 2002. He connected the Chinese basketball fans to the Houston Rockets, drawing a broad audience, and Yao Ming ended his career getting into the hall of fame and became one of the greatest players of all time.
Yao Ming and NBA History
When Yao Ming was first enrolled in the NBA, the NBA hoped that the man would reconnect China and the NBA again. He mand outstanding contribution to the NBA and was dubbed as a Houston Rockets tremendous and NBA Hall of Famer. Shortly after Houston Rockets announced that he had joined them, his team back at home, the Shanghai Sharks, retired his number 15 Jersey. The move was symbolic because it affirmed the essence and unique contribution of the payer to the team. Moreover, it symbolized the historic move because he was the first sports personality from China to play for the NBA. His hometown team was also proud because of the historic move that placed the Chinese basketball into the global map. The event broke the barriers that had existed for long between China and the United States. Asa result for the move; more people from China became primary consumers of the NBA as they tuned whenever there was a game involving the Houston Rockets and Yao Ming. Before Yao Ming joined the NBA, Wang Zhizhi, another player with Chinese descent had played for Dallas Mavericks. The move to have Yao Ming in the NBA was historic because he was the first-ever foreign-born Chinese to play in the NBA. He was very skilled and had a compact towering stature that made a valuable player for the Rockets.
As an NBA player, he was also vocal on pertinent issues that affected the world, and particularly those perpetrated by China. In his hometown, he was being featured in various billboards. He became a very vocal conservationist, which helped in saving sharks and stopping China from over-exploitation of natural resources. This was a historical movement that had been seldom done by any NBA player. Due to his increasing influence in China as an NBA player. In China, there was a growing demand for Shark fins, which was a delicacy associated with affluence. He was enrolled by WildAid as the spokesperson and led a campaign that urged the people to stop killing sharks. As a result of his influence, the number of sharks being killed each day decreased significantly. He also participated in the campaign against ivory trade, which threatened the existence of elephants. Many people in Chinese love ivory carvings. Although the hunting of elephants is outlawed, many poachers are known to kills animals and directly benefit from the illegal trade. While the bans on Ivory trade were not successful, the involvement of Yao Ming assisted in the move because it helped in halting the exploitation and killing of animals. Therefore, through the NBA, Yao Ming gained unmatched influence over the Chinese audience that assisted in the termination or reduction in Ivory trade.
In China, sports are never meant for entertainment, as is the NBA. However, they want to show that China is rising and becoming has the capability of producing world-class athletes. As Yao Ming started to play in the NBA, more people in China began to enjoy the sport. In recent years, NBA games have become the most popular foreign sports to attract a broad audience. It is reported that the league has more than five hundred million fans in China. Notably, it has become a growing investment in the nation with a net value of more than four billion dollars. The conflict between China and the NBA also ceased because more people are now attracted to the foreign game. Yao Ming’s move into the United States assisted in bringing consensus between China Basketball and the NBA. Without the involvement of Yao Ming in the NBA, China would not have become the most signifi...