Former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming believes Chinese players trying to make it in the NBA often lack the “survival instinct” needed to succeed compared with their rivals.
The former head of the Chinese Basketball Association, who is one of his country’s most famous sporting exports, questioned whether players approached their time among the game’s elite with the right mindset.
Speaking during the season premiere of the famous mainland television programme Thirteen Talks, Yao told host Xu Zhiyuan he had struggled during his time in the league because while most players were fighting to survive, he had gone to improve.
“Why didn’t I need to worry about survival?” Yao said. “Because if I didn’t do well in the NBA, I could come back to China, so what I thought about in the NBA was learning.”
And the 45-year-old hinted that the safety net provided to players in China was partly responsible for the difficulties they had in adapting to the NBA.
Yao Ming appeared in the season premiere of Thirteen Talks with host Xu Zhiyuan. (Photo: Tencent)
“I learned two words in the NBA,” Yao said. “Aggressive and hungry – they both relate to survival.”