Yao Ming Quotations

No matter whether you are new or an old team member, you need time to adjust to one another.

Fortune cookies are a good idea. If the message is positive, it can make your day a little better.

If you're going to learn a new language, you can't try to be perfect. You'll stop yourself from talking. You just have to let go.

When I was young, we were taught not to dunk. We were taught not to stand out from the rest of the team. It's different now.

Basketball, in America, is like a culture. It is like a foreigner learning a new language. It is difficult to learn foreign languages and it will also be difficult for me to learn the culture for basketball here.

I finished my high school. I think an educate is very, very important.

Putting our ecosystem in great peril is certainly not a part of Chinese culture that I know.

I'm getting fat... because my size, I put on 20 or 30 pounds, it doesn't show very much... I'm thinking about going back to work out in a very short time.

Everybody is improving but I am improving slowly, which seemingly widens our distance.

We still need to look forward. The way Miami will miss Shaq (O'Neal), they'll still need to play. Well, the league is not waiting for us or for Tracy to come back. We've got to hang in there. We can do better than that.

Usually I like going to the paint because I could get close shots, or physical contact and get a foul. Today, they didn't call it so I was afraid to go inside.

Maybe it's the best thing for me and when I come back I'll be stronger.

I have Mr. Alexander's trust and the chance to play in Houston,

I don't think I can play in the National Games. My contract (with the Rockets) d oesn't allow me though I really want to play (in the Games).

Today is barbecue my feet. It's pretty warm here. It's soft (turf), but it's heat. But we're from Texas.

Her talent and poise is what's very compelling for companies. Her ethnicity is icing on the cake.

I think we'll have a good year. Right now, Tracy and me have one year of experience. We know how to play together.

I think before we (left) Houston that this trip would maybe be a turning point for out team. We are like a new team. It started that first night, when we played Sacramento. We had some trouble in that game (falling behind by 14) but did not give up.

Physically, I may still be needing a little bit. I think I may need a suit of armor.

We?re all basketball players, and were all out there on the court, ... We all live together on this earth.

We didn't end the game well. We were ahead by nine points with about three minutes left and then we didn't handle the ball well against the full court press. It became (a close) game. We have to know our opponent's strength.

Everybody knows he's a super scorer, ... Also, he's a great passer. He had some turnovers tonight, but in a few games, those turnovers will turn into assists.

I understand that this is a great example of Mr. Alexander's trust in me,

The victory was right in front of our face. If we could have gotten one or two more rebounds, it would have been in our pocket.

The talk has got to change, ... We need to do it for ourselves -- talk the talk and walk the walk.

This is the best game China has ever played against the Koreans. I don't think any team, even the US team, could hold South Korea to only two points in a quarter.

It was a very big win for us, not because it was four wins in a row, but it was mentally tough. We struggled, but I knew we could get back in this game.

For me, it's a breath of fresh air when we make a couple of shots from the outside. That takes a lot of pressure off me and my game. Before we make some shots, everything has to go inside and it's just too crowded. When our guards make some outside shots, we're able to move some stuff around better.

It was like if I didn't keep reminding myself, I'd make mistakes.

I'm just one of the 1.3 billion Chinese.

I really can?t describe it. It completely surpasses what I imagined, ... Basketball is my job. It?s something I do and can adjust to quickly. The media, I?m a little bit of a stranger to. So it?s a little difficult to adjust.

I just started playing basketball and I feel pretty healthy. I feel by the time I return to Houston I will be completely healthy.

I couldn't catch the ball in the post. I had to set more screens on the perimeter to try to and get the defender off my body.

One is taller. The other is shorter.

I don't really have anything to say. Basketball is not a game that you can play with your mouth. It needs action to prove yourself.

Hometown is like my quilts. Sometimes when you are in sweet dreams, you don't feel it's comfortable.

There is a phrase in Chinese, 'Resolve is victory.'

Kobe's heart is as strong as his muscles.

If we buy ivory it makes all of us killers as well,

Be a journalist. I can't get away from you guys, then I just mingle with you guys.

Moving to the US was quite a transition for me, to say the least! There were, and still are so many new things to get used to: the language, food, culture, even the style of basketball is different here!

All of the Chinese people, the Asian people say, "Oh Yao Ming, you are all the Chinese, all of Asia's hopes." That's a lot of pressure. I'm just a basketball player.

The journalists are poking me all the time. It's impossible for me to stop even I want to.

To miss one year is a long time. I've never been in this situation before, and I'm getting as much information as I can about my foot, to see what's the best for me and best for the Rockets.

I'm just one of the 1.3 billion Chinese.

When I was young, we were taught not to dunk. We were taght not to stand out from the rest of the team. It's different now.

Westerners respect privacy, and they are very competitive in terms of work and personalities. My teammates in China and I can talk about everything. But with my Houston Rockets teammates, even though we're friends, we cannot ask each other about everything.

The Olympic Games is holy. Athletes from around the world, including myself, of course, dream to participate.

Others are improving very fast, and I'm not improving as fast, and that bothers me.

I am a basketball player, and I would like to focus my energy on basketball. The other things, I would rather not do. It is not something I am greatly interested in, but I know it is my responsibility.

It's always nice to start the season with a win.

I only want to play basketball, and play it well and be happy about it. But I realize that with being famous, comes a lot of demands.

A good leader must be fair.

First of all, I'm not buff enough. I got pushed away from the basket. And even when I didn't, I couldn't get anyone to throw me a pass.

The NBA is a big family, and I think of all these rookies as my brothers. I still believe I am blue collar among the All-Stars.

Endangered species are our friends.

I feel that the All-Star game is more like a party because its made up of a lot of elements. However the core of All-Star is still the 48 minute-game and all the fans will pay all attention to the showcase of the players excellent skills. The result of the game is not much of a concern.

It will take time to adapt, but I think I can handle it.

I can see well enough on the 28-meter basketball court.

I understand basketball is not my entire life. It's only a part of my life. And there are a lot of other things that interest me a great deal ... other goals to seek, and this is how I have balance in life.

Every sound in the gym is so fantastic. The screams of the fans, the whistle of the ref, the teammates calling to each other, the sounds of the ball touching the wooden floor, the sneakers touching the floor, and the sounds of the fight, the muscle and the sweat. Oh, and the last one-when the ball goes through the net. Don't laugh at my sensitivity and romanticism - those sounds really attract me.

Is there a choice in life? It's always been like this. I am jealous that you have a lot of leisure and free time. You are jealous that I have a lot money.

When the buying stops, the killing can too.

I think I am upsetting the coach.

Sometimes it can feel like there are a billion people on my shoulders.

My American strength coach said he liked me better before I could speak English.

Embarrassed journalists ask me embarrassing questions, and they get embarrassing answers, and then hand out embarrassing stories to the embarrassing editors, who put them to the front pages of newspapers. When is this going to end?

Friendship first, competition second.

To me, first and foremost, basketball is a fun sport. It is a hobby, an interest. And second, it is a profession. I feel that I am very fortunate that I can find a professional job that I really, really love.

I think I'll stick to what I'm used to, my principles, and that is team Number 1 and individual Number 2.

Sport is the best means of communication between people from different religions and countries.

Sports teach you how to be quick. Injuries teach you how to slow down.

Please don't let the illegal ivory trade orphan even more baby elephants.