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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(shí)候在NBA擺喜酒時(shí)送給這位火箭隊(duì)球星幾個(gè)24英寸的汽車輪，作為結(jié)婚禮物。
邁阿密熱隊(duì)的全明星中鋒奧尼爾目前正在中國(guó)參加李寧公司組織的“俠客中國(guó)行”活動(dòng)。
這位34歲的著名球星說：“我聽說姚明娶了個(gè)漂亮的籃球運(yùn)動(dòng)員?！?br/>
“如果讓我為姚明挑選一個(gè)結(jié)婚禮物，我會(huì)在他的婚宴上送他四個(gè)24英寸的定制車輪?！?br/>
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(duì)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(shí)，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(biāo)志。
上周，27歲的姚明與相戀八年的女友結(jié)婚。這位身高2米26的球員是NBA得克薩斯火箭隊(duì)的中鋒。
姚明和葉莉在國(guó)內(nèi)辦了兩場(chǎng)婚宴，其中一場(chǎng)在姚明的家鄉(xiāng)上海，另一場(chǎng)在中國(guó)國(guó)家籃球隊(duì)的大本營(yíng)北京。
姚明和葉莉的婚禮引起中國(guó)媒體的高度關(guān)注。曾為國(guó)家女籃隊(duì)員的葉莉現(xiàn)在休斯敦大學(xué)讀書。
一些報(bào)道稱，姚明將于今年秋天在休斯敦宴請(qǐng)隊(duì)友，奧尼爾相信姚明一定會(huì)邀請(qǐng)他。
他說：“我相信姚明一定給我發(fā)了請(qǐng)柬?！?br/>
“因?yàn)榻鼇砦业教幣埽瑳]空查郵箱。但我相信他一定會(huì)邀請(qǐng)我?！?br/>
奧尼爾見證了姚明在NBA五個(gè)賽季的成長(zhǎng)，他在姚明剛加入NBA時(shí)，曾懷疑過他的能力，之后他改變了對(duì)姚明的看法。
奧尼爾說：“無疑，姚明已經(jīng)成長(zhǎng)為NBA最好的中鋒之一?！?br/>
“他攻防都很厲害。在和火箭隊(duì)打比賽之前，我得做好充分的準(zhǔn)備。”
“另一個(gè)小將（易建聯(lián)）也很不錯(cuò)，能投、能扣，轉(zhuǎn)身過人的速度也快。我相信他能在聯(lián)盟立足?！?br/>
“我很高興看到越來越多的中國(guó)球員加入聯(lián)盟，這對(duì)于整個(gè)聯(lián)盟來說十分有利?！?br/>
奧尼爾被認(rèn)為是NBA最具統(tǒng)治力的中鋒。他曾帶領(lǐng)球隊(duì)四次奪得NBA總冠軍，其中三次是在洛杉磯湖人隊(duì)，奪得2000年至2002年賽季的冠軍，一次是去年在熱隊(duì)奪冠。
去年，奧尼爾與中國(guó)的李寧體育用品公司簽署了廣告代言協(xié)議，自此，他就穿李寧牌的運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋了。
（英語點(diǎn)津姍姍編輯） |
