Greats take their place in China's new Hall of Fame

A lot of pride, plenty of honor and a treasure trove of memories that made everyone laugh out loud right after holding back the tears.

The 2022 China Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Tianjin on Sunday was certainly an emotional occasion that not only paid tribute to the sport's contributors through the decades but also looked to the future by inspiring the next generation to emulate the greats.

Nine legends, headlined by renowned coach Jiang Xingquan, Wang Zhizhi, the first Chinese man to play in the NBA, and former national women's team star center Zheng Haixia, were inducted during a grand ceremony as the inaugural class of the Chinese hall of fame.

The class of 2022 also includes former men's national team forwards Hu Weidong and Liu Yudong, the late towering center Mu Tiezhu, members of the women's bronze medal-winning 1984 Olympic team Song Xiaobo and Cong Xuedi, and celebrated coach Xu Limin.

Another 15 former players, coaches and promoters were also honored at the ceremony staged at a venue steeped in hoops history — China's oldest indoor basketball court in Tianjin's Nankai district, where the game began to be taught and played by young Chinese in the early 1900s.

A group of 50 outstanding figures within the sports community, selected in 1999, also received a collective trophy from Chinese Basketball Association president Yao Ming for helping grow the game into one of the most popular team sports in China.

"Today is a memorable gathering at a small house that is big for the game of basketball in China," Yao said during his opening speech.

"The game evolves in fast-forward but we shall look back to trace where it all started and how we arrived here. Only by honoring the past, inheriting tradition and learning from our predecessors can the pathway to the future become straight and clear," added Yao, who was reelected CBA chief in December after serving a first term of five years.

A project that grew from an initial proposal by Yao, the Chinese hall of fame system is expected to announce its inductees annually after going through a nominations process, elections and final reviews.

With history and tradition honored during the ceremony, some of the inductees' colorful speeches illuminated just how far the game has developed in a relatively short time in China.

As the first Chinese man to ever play in the NBA, former national team and Bayi Rockets center Wang made everyone laugh out loud recalling his formative days on the court.

"If I didn't play basketball, I wouldn't have shoes to wear," said Wang, who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1999 and played his first game in the States two years later.

"When I was 14, my feet grew too big to fit in any other ordinary shoes than the ones left by big sister Haixia. Later I learned that Yao also had to ask Haixia for her shoes," Wang said of the help from Zheng, a 2.06-meter juggernaut presence in the women's game in her prime in the 1990s.

"So please give thanks to big sister Haixia for helping fulfill our basketball dreams. She taught us that only by playing basketball well will we have shoes to wear."

Zheng explained in her speech that she also had to borrow shoes from her senior counterpart Mu, and took pride from this bond between the generations.

"Hard work helped me become an international star, coming all the way from being a humble rural girl," said Zheng, who led the Chinese women's team to a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games before playing for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks from 1997-98.

Hu, one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Chinese basketball, echoed Zheng's sentiments, calling on the nation's current batch of young guns to never lose sight of the hard-work ethic.

"I didn't wear glasses while playing, my vision was blurred so the rim seemed much bigger for me," Hu quipped about his sharp 3-point shooting.

Wang, Hu's archrival in the domestic league and teammate on the 1996 Olympic team, paid tribute to the hard-training culture back in the 1990s forged by coach Jiang's demanding sessions.

"We only trust in hard work and invest in sweat, nothing else," said Wang, a formidable member of the men's team that managed a best-ever eighth-place finish at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.