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Houston Rockets center Yao Ming of China (R) grabs a rebound1 in front of Detroit Pistons2 forward Rasheed Wallace (L) and Rockets forward Shane Battier (C) during the first half of their NBA game in Auburn Hills, Michigan, November 18, 2006. [Reuters]
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Bill Walton first saw Yao Ming six years ago, at the Sydney Olympics. Like everyone else gaping3 at the 7-foot-5 prodigy4, Walton said, "I was blown away by the potential."
In his fifth season, Yao is blowing people away more than ever.
He is 11th in the league with 26.4 points per game, the best among centers. With 10.4 rebounds5 per game and 1.6 blocks, Yao finally is entering the stratosphere of elite6 big men.
At a time when the center position is in serious decline in a sport that has given us Bill Russell, Wilt7 Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon,, Yao's only peer, Shaquille O'Neal, will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks after knee surgery Sunday.
O'Neal's slow start in defending the Miami Heat's championship, coupled with the inevitable8 breakdown9 of his 34-year-old, 315-pound body, have some projecting that Yao, 26, could overtake Shaq as the only dominant10 center.
Some say Yao's time is now.
But according to Walton, league executives, and scouts11, Yao Ming is not the best center in the NBA.
Not yet. Not as long as Shaq is still employed.
"Yao's numbers already indicate that he is at the top," said Walton, a Hall of Fame center turned ESPN analyst12. "But he has to learn how to turn statistics into impact and control of the game. Because even at this stage of Shaq's career, Shaq still has more stage presence than any player in the game. "
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NBA联盟执行主任比尔·沃尔顿第一次看见姚明是在六年前的悉尼奥运会上，当他看到这位身高2米26的“小巨人”时，就“被他的潜力镇住了”。
姚明在NBA第五个赛季的表现的确“镇住了”很多人。
姚明本赛季以平均每场26.4分的成绩位居联盟球员得分榜第11位，成为NBA得分最高的中锋，再加上每场10.4个篮板和1.6个盖帽，姚明已步入NBA的顶级中锋行列。
NBA历史上曾诞生过比尔·拉塞尔、威尔特·张伯伦、“天钩”贾巴尔和“大梦”奥拉居旺这样的超级中锋，但如今NBA正逐渐步入一个“后中锋时代”。在仅存的两名超级中锋中，姚明的“死敌”“大鲨鱼”奥尼尔因上周日接受了膝部手术，将缺席四至六周的比赛。
卫冕冠军热火队中锋、34岁的奥尼尔由于本赛季状态下滑、再加上伤病缠身，有人预测，他在NBA的"第一中锋"位置将被26岁的姚明取代。
有人认为，姚明时代已经到来。
但沃尔顿、NBA 高级官员及球探认为，姚明目前还不是NBA最好的中锋。奥尼尔“第一中锋”的位置还无人可以取代。
NBA名人堂中锋、ESPN电视台篮球解说员沃尔顿说：“姚明的各项数据统计足以说明他已经成为NBA的顶级中锋。但是姚明必须学会如何将得分上的优势转化为在场上的影响力和控制力。虽然‘大鲨鱼’现在已经34岁了，但是他上场的时间仍然是最多的。”
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