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Shaquille O'Neal of the NBA's Miami Heat poses with young Chinese basketball players during a media event in Beijing August 14, 2007. O'Neal is on a promotional tour around China by the invitation of Li Ning, China's leading sportswear manufacturer.[Reuters]
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NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal will give Yao Ming 24-inch car rims as a wedding gift when China's Houston Rockets star celebrates his third wedding ceremony later this year.
O'Neal, the Miami Heat's All-star center, is currently on a tour of China organized by his sponsor Li-Ning.
"I've heard the news that Yao has married a beautiful basketball player," the famous 34-year-old giant said.
"If you let me choose a wedding gift for him, I would give Yao four 24-inch customized rims at his wedding ceremony."
A number of NBA stars are crazy about custom cars- and big, shiny rims top their wish lists. But Yao is not so enamored of the four-wheeled sport, preferring to drive a BMW 7-series rather than more extravagant rides like Ferrari roadsters or SUVs. In fact, the only customized feature of Yao's car is a "Y&Y" logo - for Yao and his wife Ye Li - on the rear.
The 27-year-old Yao, a 2.26-meter center for the Texan NBA franchise, married his girlfriend of eight years last week.
The couple held two ceremonies, one in Yao's hometown of Shanghai and another in Beijing where China's national team is based.
The wedding of Yao and Ye, a former Chinese National Team player and current University of Houston student, attracted huge media attention in China.
Some reports have claimed the center will celebrate another wedding in Houston in autumn, where O'Neal believes he will be among the guests.
"I am sure he has sent the invitation to me," he said.
"I haven't checked my mailbox recently because I travel a lot, but I am sure he did."
Having witnessed Yao's NBA evolution in the past five years, O'Neal has changed his tune on the Chinese player after questioning Yao's ability during his rookie year.
"Obviously Yao has grown into one of the best centers in the league," O'Neal said.
"He is awful (to play against) on both ends. I have to be well prepared before the games against the Rockets.
"The other kid (Yi Jianlian) is also impressive, I know he can shoot, dunk and spin. I am sure he will make his place in the league.
"I am happy to see more and more Chinese players coming up - it is very good for the league as a whole."
O'Neal is widely regarded as the NBA's most dominant centre after winning four NBA championships, three with the Los Angeles Lakers between 2000 and 2002 and one with the Heat last year.
He signed a sponsorship deal with China sportswear manufacturing giant Li-Ning last year and has worn its shoes ever since.
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(China Daily) |
NBA巨星“大鯊魚”奧尼爾將在姚明今年晚些時候在NBA擺喜酒時送給這位火箭隊球星幾個24英寸的汽車輪，作為結婚禮物。
邁阿密熱隊的全明星中鋒奧尼爾目前正在中國參加李寧公司組織的“俠客中國行”活動。
這位34歲的著名球星說：“我聽說姚明娶了個漂亮的籃球運動員。”
“如果讓我為姚明挑選一個結婚禮物，我會在他的婚宴上送他四個24英寸的定制車輪。”
很多NBA球星都喜歡定制車，又大又炫的車輪是他們的最愛。但姚明對此并不十分感興趣，他更喜歡開寶馬7系列，而不是像法拉利和SUV那些較為奢華的車。其實，姚明的車唯一“特別定制”的地方就是車后方的“Y&Y”（Yao Ming & Ye Li）標志。
上周，27歲的姚明與相戀八年的女友結婚。這位身高2米26的球員是NBA得克薩斯火箭隊的中鋒。
姚明和葉莉在國內辦了兩場婚宴，其中一場在姚明的家鄉上海，另一場在中國國家籃球隊的大本營北京。
姚明和葉莉的婚禮引起中國媒體的高度關注。曾為國家女籃隊員的葉莉現在休斯敦大學讀書。
一些報道稱，姚明將于今年秋天在休斯敦宴請隊友，奧尼爾相信姚明一定會邀請他。
他說：“我相信姚明一定給我發了請柬。”
“因為近來我到處跑，沒空查郵箱。但我相信他一定會邀請我。”
奧尼爾見證了姚明在NBA五個賽季的成長，他在姚明剛加入NBA時，曾懷疑過他的能力，之后他改變了對姚明的看法。
奧尼爾說：“無疑，姚明已經成長為NBA最好的中鋒之一。”
“他攻防都很厲害。在和火箭隊打比賽之前，我得做好充分的準備。”
“另一個小將（易建聯）也很不錯，能投、能扣，轉身過人的速度也快。我相信他能在聯盟立足。”
“我很高興看到越來越多的中國球員加入聯盟，這對于整個聯盟來說十分有利。”
奧尼爾被認為是NBA最具統治力的中鋒。他曾帶領球隊四次奪得NBA總冠軍，其中三次是在洛杉磯湖人隊，奪得2000年至2002年賽季的冠軍，一次是去年在熱隊奪冠。
去年，奧尼爾與中國的李寧體育用品公司簽署了廣告代言協議，自此，他就穿李寧牌的運動鞋了。
（英語點津姍姍編輯） |
