Yao Ming was too shy to tell people he should be called ‘Ming’
Former Houston Rockets superstar Yao Ming will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September. While his career was shortened by a foot injury, Yao was still one of the most dominant big men in NBA history during his prime. Or, we should say, Ming was one of the most dominant big men in NBA history.
In a piece he wrote for The Players Tribune this week, Yao gave a glimpse into how he adjusted to life in a new country at age 22. One of the first things he had to adapt to was people calling him “Yao.”
“For example, everyone called me ‘Yao’ — they thought it was my first name,” he wrote. “In China, our surnames come first and our given names last. To my Chinese friends, I was Ming. Now I was just Yao. Once everyone started saying it that way, I never corrected them. I was too shy.”
Yao also wrote a lot about his relationship with former Rockets guard Steve Francis, who took the 7-foot-6 center under his wing almost immediately.
“In the Chinese tradition, when you meet someone for the first time you stay back a little bit,” Yao wrote. “You say hello, shake hands, but it is very formal. Over time, like a pot of water that slowly heats up, you get to know someone and get more comfortable. Steve wasn’t that way. Steve was boiling water right away. On the court or off the court, Steve was 200 degrees all the time. I instantly liked him.”
The entire piece is worth reading. Yao is an interesting dude, which we already knew from some of his business ventures over the last several years. The way he was able to assimilate to life in the NBA is pretty remarkable.