我第一次想到自己可以跻身NBA是在1998年，那时我18岁，在美国打了两个月球回到国内。我从未想到我能打得那么好。知道为什么吗?那以前，我在中国打球的对手都比我大得多，在青年队时对手大我两三岁，在17岁进入大鲨鱼队时对手大我五六岁。这让我打得很费力，因为他们长得比我壮，球龄比我长。在美国，我终于跟自己同龄的人打球了，感觉很不一样。

Yao earned respect from Tyson Chandler during amateur basketball camps.
(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)The trip started in Indianapolis with a Nike camp. Then (Chinese national team and Shanghai Sharks teammate) Liu Wei and I went to Dallas to join an AAU team called High Five. That team traveled all over the country playing in tournaments. That was when you could take players from anywhere and put them on one team. Now it’s different, I guess: you have to live within 100 miles of your team’s home city. Dallas is where I first met Teyo Johnson, who is now a tight end for the Oakland Raiders. Teyo and I have been friends ever since.

　　美国之行是从位于印第安纳波利斯的耐克训练营开始的。而后，刘炜和我前往达拉斯加入了AAU（美国业余体育联合会）的一支叫HighFive的球队。这支球队在全美四处巡回，参加锦标赛。在巡回比赛时，球队可以从任何地方挑选球员到他们队里。现在不同了，球队只能从其所在城市100英里范围内挑选球员。我在达拉斯第一次见到泰约·约翰逊，他现在是奥克兰突击者队的边锋，我们从那时起就一直是朋友。
　

TEYO JOHNSON (tight end for the Oakland Raiders): I flew on a red-eye into Dallas. When I got to the hotel and gave my name, the girl at the front desk said, “Oh, you’re with the big Chinese dude.” I thought, “What, I’ve joined a team of foreign-exchange students?” I went up to the room and knocked, but when no one answered, I stuck my key in the slot. Just then Yao Ming answered the door. In his underwear. Tighty-whities. And all I could see was up to his chin in the doorway. He and Liu Wei were sacked out. He let me in and went back to bed. They had a cot set up for me. I called my mom right away and whispered, “There’s this 7-6 dude in my room, and he’s Chinese!” She said, “Yeah, the Mongolians and Huns can be really big.” I didn’t know what to think until we went to practice the next day. That’s where I found out—this dude could play.

　　泰约·约翰逊:（姚明训练营队友）我搭乘红眼航班来到达拉斯。到了酒店，报上我的名字，前台的小姐说，“噢，你跟那个大个子的中国帅哥住一起。”我的心咯噔了一下，“什么，我参加了外国交换学生的球队?”我走到客房，敲门没人回应，我就用钥匙开门。这时，姚明给我开了门，他穿着内衣，是白色紧身的。在门口我只能看见他的下巴。他和刘炜已经睡下了。他让我进门后，就回到了床上。他们为我铺好了一张小床。我马上打电话给我妈，小声说，“有个7英尺6的家伙在我房间，他是中国人!”我妈说，“哦，中国人可真能长个
儿啊。”第二天练习的时候，在球场上我发现———这家伙还真是厉害。

I played everywhere in those two months. After Dallas we went to Stetson University in Florida; AAU summer leagues or tournaments in Orlando, San Diego, Phoenix, and Augusta, Georgia; and Michael Jordan’s camp in Santa Barbara. We didn’t know where we were or where we were going most of the time. At Stetson I worked out every day with Lee Scruggs, the center who played at Georgetown. He’s playing now in the NBDL, the NBA’s minor league. The coach working with us was Tates Locke. He had just become a scout for the Blazers, after many years as a college coach. liuxuepaper.com