Yao Ming`s Dream: All-star Selection

Will "Walking Great Wall" Yao Ming (22, Houston Rockies) get a spot in the glorious Best 5 in the NBA All-star Game for the first time for an Asian?

The mid-term popular vote announced yesterday gave Yao Ming the second position among the NBA centers belonging to West Conference, just behind Shaquille O`Neal.

Yao Ming earned 471,107 votes, 9,787 votes behind O`Neal. Recently, Yao Ming seems to have fully adjusted himself to the NBA, and is showing excellent performance. On the other hand, O`Neal is in the doldrums, along with the downfall of his team. Therefore, Yao Ming may exceed him in terms of points, and advance to the starting lineup in the All-star Game.

Yao Ming said, "If I got elected, it would be a great honor and stimulation to me. I have got many votes. I owe this to my fans back in China."

Last year, he topped the drafting list. This season, Yao Ming maintains 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, ranking himself at the top with the 59.9% success rate. At the beginning of this season, he got off to a bad start, getting the criticism that he is just tall, but nothing. Getting into December, however, He recorded a "double-double (or two-digit point and rebound)," transforming himself as the most promising new player.

The popular votes will be conducted until January 12th on the home pages of the basketball stadiums and NBA`s official web site. Therefore, if Chinese people log on and shower votes on Yao Ming, it will be very easy for him to get ahead of O`NeAl.

In the meanwhile, Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers) got the most votes among both Conferences` players. This year`s All-star Game will take place on February 10 in Atlanta.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com