Houston Rockets center Yao Ming of China (R) grabs a rebound in front of Detroit Pistons 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] Bill Walton first saw Yao Ming six years ago, at the Sydney Olympics. Like everyone else gaping at the 7-foot-5 prodigy, 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 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks, Yao finally is entering the stratosphere of elite big men. At a time when the center position is in serious decline in a sport that has given us Bill Russell, Wilt 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 inevitable breakdown of his 34-year-old, 315-pound body, have some projecting that Yao, 26, could overtake Shaq as the only dominant center. Some say Yao's time is now. But according to Walton, league executives, and scouts, 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 analyst. "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. " 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Reuters)

NBA聯盟執行主任比爾·沃爾頓第一次看見姚明是在六年前的悉尼奧運會上，當他看到這位身高2米26的“小巨人”時，就“被他的潛力鎮住了”。 姚明在NBA第五個賽季的表現的確“鎮住了”很多人。 姚明本賽季以平均每場26.4分的成績位居聯盟球員得分榜第11位，成為NBA得分最高的中鋒，再加上每場10.4個籃板和1.6個蓋帽，姚明已步入NBA的頂級中鋒行列。 NBA歷史上曾誕生過比爾·拉塞爾、威爾特·張伯倫、“天鉤”賈巴爾和“大夢”奧拉居旺這樣的超級中鋒，但如今NBA正逐漸步入一個“后中鋒時代”。在僅存的兩名超級中鋒中，姚明的“死敵”“大鯊魚”奧尼爾因上周日接受了膝部手術，將缺席四至六周的比賽。 衛冕冠軍熱火隊中鋒、34歲的奧尼爾由于本賽季狀態下滑、再加上傷病纏身，有人預測，他在NBA的"第一中鋒"位置將被26歲的姚明取代。 有人認為，姚明時代已經到來。 但沃爾頓、NBA 高級官員及球探認為，姚明目前還不是NBA最好的中鋒。奧尼爾“第一中鋒”的位置還無人可以取代。 NBA名人堂中鋒、ESPN電視臺籃球解說員沃爾頓說：“姚明的各項數據統計足以說明他已經成為NBA的頂級中鋒。但是姚明必須學會如何將得分上的優勢轉化為在場上的影響力和控制力。雖然‘大鯊魚’現在已經34歲了，但是他上場的時間仍然是最多的。” （英語點津姍姍編輯）