Hypothesis: They are getting taller.
Observations: With two players from China getting nabbed in last week's draft, we now have a reasonable sample of data points with which to work. This study includes past NBA players Mengke Bateer (6'11") and Wang ZhiZhi (7'1"), current player Yao Ming (7'6"), draftees Yi Jianlian (7'0") and Sun Yue (6'9"), plus future NBA star Sun Ming Ming (7'9"), currently slated to play in Mexico next year.
Analysis: Plotting these data points (in inches) and applying a standard regression (red line), we can see that in the near future the heights of Chinese NBA prospects will literally be off the charts.
These results may seem surprising, but not when one considers the fact that Chinese kids have been brushing their teeth with toothpaste laced with HGH.
Discussion: While the sample size of this study is quite small, the results are robust enough to extrapolate to the general Chinese population as follows:
Even using these conservative numbers, the data set shows that there are at least 47 million seven-footers in China who know how to play basketball. The true figure is probably well north of this estimate.
Conclusion: Chinese men who play basketball are tall, getting taller, and in large supply. However, it remains to be seen whether any Chinese player will have the same impact on the NBA as Yao Ming (a possible outlier). For instance, so far all we've seen from not-so-Eazy-Yi is that he's good at rejecting the Bucks and getting rejected by Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Nonetheless, the height trends are probably enough to explain why Commissioner Stern is so amoureuse with le Chine.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-06-2007 @ 8:03AM
mairbek said...
Sun Mingming is 2.36 meters high...
Wow.
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7-06-2007 @ 9:16AM
Dean said...
I heart Pops. I'm just hoping he gets some PT this year, since the Mav's are in desperate need for toughness from the big men. He probably still has some adjusting to do, but he's already really good at dunking on Luke Schensher, which has to count for something.
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7-06-2007 @ 9:26AM
TheHype said...
I see that you used the Chinese national colours with the guesstimation... very subliminal see...
Reply
7-06-2007 @ 9:47AM
verily said...
Loved the "scientific" graphics. LOL Michaelangelo deserves a raise. :)
Verily
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7-06-2007 @ 10:30AM
Tom said...
Oh my god.
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7-06-2007 @ 3:51PM
Brett said...
"The Next Big Thing" looks really mean, I'm a little scared.
Reply
7-08-2007 @ 2:11AM
Jklicious99 said...
All these Chinese ballers are tall but their rail thin....most of them are getting pushed around at the NBA level or will be....heck, it took 3 years before Yao Ming adjusted and he's one of the better centers in the league now. And yes, I agree..."The Next Big Thing" does look scary...lol
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7-10-2007 @ 6:25AM
Naruwan Republic said...
Chinese Imperial guards were chronicled to be 8- foot tall with swords and spears weighting 30-40 kgs. No HGH toothpaste then and yes HGH even nowadays must be given parenterally to be effective. And boy HGH is pretty expensive for a toothpaste too!
So Yao and company are mere midgets compared to their Imperial guard ancestors so to speak.
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7-10-2007 @ 6:35AM
Naruwan Republic said...
Chinese annals have recorded Imperial guards to be 8-foot tall to qualify cuz their arms are 40-50kg heavy scabbards and spears.
No HGH-laden toothpaste then and even now HGH is only effective if given parenterally by injections. Also please note that this hormone is quite expensive and only persons like Rocky can easily afford it!
So Yao and company are mere midgets compared to their ancestors.
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