NBA global ambassador and basketball legend Dikembe Mutombo yesterday hailed the induction of “best friend” Yao Ming into the NBA Hall of Fame and urged more Asians to follow the Chinese star’s lead.
Mutombo said more Asian players should leave their comfort zone and take risks just like Yao, who is among 10 former players to be enshrined in basketball’s Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in September.
“Regarding my colleague and best friend Yao Ming — I call him ‘Big Yao’ — I am very excited,” Mutombo told reporters in Singapore, where he was attending a meeting on promoting the sport among Asian children.
“He deserves it... I salute him so much and I take my hat off for everything he gave to us. I cannot wait to give him a big hug,” Mutombo, 49, added.
However, Mutombo said culture remains the biggest hurdle holding back Asian players from following Yao’s footsteps in the world’s top professional basketball league.
“In Asian culture, people are much [more] reserved about opening up,” Mutombo said. “I would love to see more Asian players coming to the NBA. These are some things that Yao and I have been discussing a lot, but for some reason so many of them are just hesitant.”
“It took a lot of people to convince Yao Ming to get out of China. Yao just did not come on his own. It was tough,” Mutombo added.
Former Houston Rockets star Yao was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in 2002 after leading the Shanghai Sharks to the Chinese title that same year.
He was an eight-time NBA All-Star — from 2003 to 2009 and in 2011 — and broke the record for most All-Star votes, previously held by Michael Jordan in 2005.
Despite a dearth of Asian players in the NBA, Mutombo said there are still many “great talents,” who could join.
“The sky is the limit,” he said.
Mutombo, an eight-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, led the league in blocked shots for five seasons in a row from 1993-1994 to 1997-1998.
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