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Yao, the president of the Chinese Basketball
Association, soared to stardom in the United States as the
eight-time All-Star for the Houston Rockets, an affable, 7-foot,
6-inch NBA big man who dominated the league before retiring in
2011.
Yao propelled the league's popularity in his home country but
relations between China and the NBA have not always been smooth.
Chinese broadcasters stopped airing Rockets games in 2019 after
general manager Daryl Morey posted a message in support of
anti-government protests in Hong Kong and, earlier this year,
former NBA player Dwight Howard appeared in a promotional video
in which he referred to Taiwan as a country, prompting backlash.
"I have to say, the NBA is in the first class... (because) you
know the players being exposed in China for so long," Yao said,
when asked about the past issues between China and the NBA.
"The players, the teams (are) all still very well welcome in
China and (we had) a couple of players with (in) China just this
past summer."
Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Kyle Anderson competed with
China at the FIBA World Cup, while the Miami Heat's six-times
All-Star Jimmy Butler embarked on a tour of the country over the
summer.
Yao travelled to New York this week for the first time in nearly
four years as part of a roughly 30-person Chinese delegation,
and met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at a time when
international participation in the league is at an all-time
high.
"Everything looks (like it is) running very, very well (under)
his management," he said of Silver, who took the reins in 2014.
The trip coincides with the thawing of relations between China
and another major sports body, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA),
which concluded its China Open earlier this month after
previously suspending competitions there over the disappearance
of Peng Shuai.
Yao, a longtime friend of the former doubles number one, said he
had met with Peng over dinner about two months ago and that she
was doing well.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by
Echo Wang in New York; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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