http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/rockets/
On demanding the ball.
"I don't have Hakeem's speed. I don't have his moves," Yao said.
"I'll walk them to the sideline and say it behind the scenes," Yao said. "I am not going to do it in front of everybody and say, 'Give me the damn ball.' I just don't want to do that right in front of everybody."
It is a difference in styles, a different in culture. Yao admits that every American coach he's played for has wanted him to milk his scoring ability. But he says back in China, it was all about spreading the ball around.
"It is like this water bottle," Yao told me, picking up a prop for his demonstration. "You don't want to use it all up right away."
He knows his limitations and his culture is in-grained to his soul. Ultimate teamplayer is what he will be remembered as when his career is done.