NBA legend Dwyane Wade says All-Star Game critics must move with times – and China should not wait for new Yao Ming
- Basketball ‘is different, you can’t expect it to look the same’, he says of comparisons with old days. ‘We’re expecting the same product and that’s just unfair’
- Wade says fans should not wait in ‘hope that China gets another Yao Ming, that’s unfair to players in China’
Former US basketball star Dwyane Wade has said the NBA All-Star Game is a product of changing times and fans should embrace it, rather than lamenting it being less competitive than it was.
The East beat the West 211-186 last week, the first time the game had seen a team reach the 200-point mark, but Wade, speaking exclusively to the Post in Macau, urged spectators to move with the times.
“We don’t appreciate nothing when it’s happening – we only appreciate when it’s gone,” the Hall of Famer said. “The world is different, let’s just enjoy the greatness that we get to see.
“The game is surrounded by outside shots, shooting and scoring, it’s not surrounded by defence any more. It’s a whole different beast, so you can’t ask the players to change their mindset for an All-Star Game.”
A 13-time All-Star, Wade has lived through the changes – from seeing Kobe Bryant and others being competitive to the game it is today.
