Former NBA superstars Yao Ming, Wade on Chinese basketball development

Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association, and Dwyane Wade, one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, shared their opinions on how Chinese basketball should grow in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) this week.

Wade, a three-time NBA champion guard, held a teenager basketball training camp in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province this week. He enjoyed working as a coach for children, but he also noticed that Chinese coaches made too many requests on their players instead of allowing them to get creative and play on their own on the court.

Yao, who is a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, believes that a coach's job is not just teaching plays, but also helping players mentally so they can give full play to their talents at the right moment.

Yao entered the NBA in 2002, one year younger than Wade. Before the Chinese giant retired in 2011, the two played a lot against each other, not only in the league, but also at the Olympic Games on behalf of China and USA.

As a sport, basketball has been evolving constantly and looks much different today from what it was in the eras of Yao and Wade. Yao pointed out that in modern basketball, everyone, including the big men, must shoot three pointers, which was not so universal in the old days. Wade won his second and third titles in the Miami Heat that played classic small-ball style. His teammate Chris Bosh transformed from a traditional big man into a classic stretch-five.

The Chinese men's national basketball team has been struggling for years. In order to grow better, the team has been trying to learn from the world's top teams, most of which are from either the U.S. or Europe.

Yao believes that the two styles of basketball have been growing more and more similar to each other because they share the same ultimate purpose: better efficiency. As the "landscaper" of Chinese basketball, the association has a role of guiding instead of controlling how the sport develops in this country.

Wade suggested that Chinese coaches also need to grow because a good teaching system matters the most to basketball development. Good coaches who know how to do their jobs can help talented players grow better.