The U.S. audience glossed over this fact, as well as the entire Rockets organisation. They had a new, 7-foot-6 superstar for whom they desperately tried to adapt - Ming says the Rockets hired a Chinese professor to teach the team about the culture - yet his name, of all things, was lost in translation.
"Once everyone started saying it that way, I never corrected them," Ming writes. "I was too shy."
With a new name came a new life, though, and things got better for the Hall of Fame elect.
He writes about how an amiable Steve Francis took him under his wing and into his Hummer - "Hammer?" a confused Ming asked at the time - and helped bring Ming out of his shell. The two bonded with a 20-minute car ride, Ming's limited English balanced by The Franchise pushing through with NBA lessons ("Be aggressive") and digging into the personal - both were dating high school girlfriends.
"I learned a lot in those 20 minutes in Steve's Hummer," Ming writes. "I will always respect that he took interest in me and welcomed me. When he got traded to Orlando, I missed him a lot. He was a good teammate and a good friend, and he was one of the reasons I felt at home in Houston my first year."
Even with a different name.
- with news.com.au
