Shanghai (CNN) -- When Yao Ming retired from professional basketball seven months ago, there were fears that interest in the NBA among China's 1.3 billion people would dwindle. But now the former Houston Rockets center -- one of the most successful overseas players in the league's history -- could be forgiven for feeling like yesterday's star in China thanks to Jeremy Lin, the American-born New York Knicks point guard with roots in mainland China and Taiwan. "We have a lot of talented young athletes here who are passionate about basketball," Yao told CNN in an interview Wednesday. "They all want be the next Jeremy.
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Yao Ming enjoyed huge success in the NBA while playing with the Hosuton Rockets
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Compared to American-born New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, who has Chinese-Taiwanese roots
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Lin's fan base on Sina Weibo, China's top micro-blogging site, has already hit the two million mark
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The two players bonded after meeting at an event for Yao's charity two years ago
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"I think they can relate more to @placeholder because they're more common-sized."
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Another added: "He was born in @placeholder, but his blood is Chinese."
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Another added: "He was born in America, but his blood is @placeholder."
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Shanghai native Yao grew up in China's state-sponsored sports system and, amid much fanfare, was signed by the @placeholder in 2002 as the NBA's top overall pick.
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Yao, however, appears to have made up his mind about @placeholder.