NBA legend Yao Ming reveals surprising one-word reason for loving Philadelphia

Yao Ming is one of the most celebrated international players in NBA history. The Hall of Famer is one of the very first non-American players to build a legacy in the league.

On Thursday, Complex Sports shared a video of the Hall of Famer having a casual conversation with Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma. During one segment of their conversation, Kuzma asked Ming about his favourite city in the United States.

In his response, the Chinese basketball icon named Philadelphia as the city he loved the most in the States. When asked about his reason for preferring Philly over other cities, Ming gave a one-word answer that left Kuzma laughing.

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"Cheesesteak," he said.

While Kyle Kuzma was laughing at Ming's answer, the Hall of Famer gave more details behind his love for Philadelphia.

"I like museums. Chicago has good museums too, but Philadelphia has a good museum and also the Navy Factory, defending the entire ocean. That's kind of a museum too," he added.

As the conversation ended, Kuzma playfully taunted Yao Ming by calling him a "Cheesesteak guy," and the remark had the Hall of Famer laughing hard. Ming played nine seasons for the Houston Rockets, earning eight All-Star nominations. The Rockets retired his jersey in 2017 to honor his contributions to the franchise.

Former Rockets teammate compares Yao Ming to Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic has arguably been the best player in the world for the last few years. The Serbian international and three-time league MVP has been dominating the league with the Nuggets and helped them win a championship in 2023.

Jokic is known for having exceptional playmaking abilities while having a big man's build. The three-time MVP has mastered the art of dictating plays from the paint and has been one of the toughest players to stop when he gets going.

However, the league could have seen a player like Jokic a decade earlier than the Serbian international entered his prime. On the Jul. 7 episode of the "All the Smoke" podcast, former Rockets player Cuttino Mobley revealed that Yao Ming had playmaking abilities similiar to Jokic but he was limited because of the Rockets's offensive tactics at the time.

"What people don’t understand about Yao. He could pass the ball, like Joker, he could've done that,” Mobley said. “It’s just the offense didn’t. Say we would’ve had Rick Adelman, for a fact, you would’ve seen more of Yao Ming. Like that Chris Webber, that Vlade Divac, Brad Miller type of passing. He had all of it."

Later, Mobley explained that the Rockets coach at the time wanted the squad to play possession-style basketball with limited creativity during the offensive possessions.

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Avi Shravan

Avi Shravan's first year of college was the year he discovered his passion for basketball and the NBA. He has been an ardent fan of the sport ever since, from waking up early to cover games to watching pundit discussions, he does it all.

Avi is a big fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves and firmly believes that the young star is the next big thing in the NBA.

Avi graduated in Mass Communication and Journalism, further enhancing his skills as a journalist and a writer. In his spare time when he is not writing, you can find him playing video games, watching anime, or reading a book he randomly picked at a bookstore.

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