The legendary basketball player Yao Ming called China’s squad “slackers” and warned that due to their “huge gap” from the best in the world, they will find it difficult to qualify for future Olympics.
After China’s team lost to the Philippines in the semifinals of their home Asian Games in Hangzhou, the eight-time NBA All-Star, who is now the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, criticized the nation’s performance.
After defeating Taiwan on Friday, the Chinese opted for bronze, but Yao and the supporters expected much more.
China also performed poorly at the World Cup last month, losing four of its five games and failing to qualify for the Olympics in Paris next year.
China found it “hard to adjust quickly” following their World Cup failure, according to Yao, but he cautioned that they would eventually have to deal with reality.
“There are two types of slacking — one is the indisciplined kind and the other is wanting to eat your opponent in just one bite,” he told the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
“This is also a type of slacking.”
China finished last in the last qualifying round for Paris after losing to Serbia, South Sudan, Puerto Rico, and the host Philippines at the World Cup.
For China to be eligible for the Los Angeles Games in 2028, according to Yao, comprehensive transformation would be required.
“We have to conduct a major operation — this is not something that small tweaks will achieve,” he stated.
“From the makeup of the national team to league reform, this is a major operation covering the entire basketball community.”
Yao, a star for the Houston Rockets from 2002 to 2011, noted that other nations were “progressing very fast” and mentioned that Japan, a foe from the region, had made it to Paris.
However, he cautioned that the path ahead will not be simple, stating that China required “an open platform” to debate their inadequacies.
“The pain comes from the huge gap between China’s basketball and world basketball,” he stated.
