As saddened as I am about the lost potential that was Yao's NBA career, I am comforted by the knowledge that he will now be able to dedicate his attention full time to humanitarian work and helping to develop basketball in China with the Sharks. As some of you may know, the catalyst for my love and devotion to the Mavericks (and in fact, the NBA) was when the Good Guys drafted Wang Zhizhi in the 2nd round all the way back in 1999. While he, and subsequent Chinese players (Mengke Bateer, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue) have failed to set the NBA on fire...that doesn't stop a brotha from having a little pride, Do You Know What I Am Saying?
Yao was an excellent (maybe not by historical standards) player, but so much more, he was a true ambassador of the game. I mean hell, Shaq started things off with a little racism, and now (as far as we can tell) they have a deep mutual respect. Yao made me proud to be Chinese, and he was also really tall.
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