Long after his retirement, Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming is still respected as a global icon for the sport.
This is why the NBA has invited the first overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft to be one of the instructors of their Basketball Without Borders camp that will take place during the All-Star Weekend. The camp is formed to teach the top global teen players.
In an AFP report via Channel News Asia, it was confirmed that there will be 43 boys and 10 girls representing 27 nations in the event. They would travel to Toronto for the February 12-14 camp at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Of course, the main event will still be the match-up of the NBA's top tier players from the Eastern and Western conferences. That will be the culminating event on February 14. This is the 65th All-Star game and it is also the marks the first time the event will cross American borders.
Yao, a 2.29m center, was picked Houston Rockets after playing five seasons in China. His selection marked him as the first Asian superstar in the NBA and it seems appropriate that he will mentor top high school players from Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Throughout his career (all at Houston) he averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocked shots and 1.6 assists. He had to miss the 2009-10 season with a broken left ankle and the subsequent season he could only appear in five games until a stress fracture in the same ankle forced him to call it quits in July of 2011.
There will be other instructors from other countries like Venezuelan guard Greivis Vasquez of the Milwaukee Bucks, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari of the Denver Nuggets and Democratic Republic of Congo center Bismack Biyombo of the Toronto Raptors.
"The BWB Global Camp is a great opportunity for these boys and girls to learn directly from players and coaches," NBA vice president of international basketball operations Brooks Meek said. "The BWB program continues to teach values like leadership, teamwork and respect that have application on and off the court."
According to Fox Sports, NBA draft prospect in 2017, 7-1 Thon Maker will represent Australia in the Basketball Without Borders Event. Yao Ming would be a good model for him.