CCTV5's special interview for Yang Yiming was arranged in the audience at the Toyota Center Arena without a game day, and it was recorded for more than three hours.

The interview will be broadcast in two episodes around the New Year, in the CCTV5 Basketball Park program broadcast every Friday.

However, since we are the parties to the interview, we will sort out the content of the Q&A and take a sneak peek here.

The "Liu" below represents the interviewer, that is, Liu Xingyu, the host of the basketball park program.

"Yang" represents the interviewee, that is, Yang Yiming, a Chinese player of the Houston Rockets and the protagonist of this story.

1/

Liu: It's your first time giving an exclusive interview, right?

Yang: Yes. To be honest, I was a little nervous (laughs). Should I thank you first? Well, thank you very much for CCTV, Sports Channel and Basketball Park for giving me such an exclusive interview. Hello basketball fans all over China, and I wish you a Merry Christmas and New Year in advance. I wish 2018 a prosperous career, and your career and life are thriving like a soaring rocket.

Liu: Thank you. I'm really good at chatting, and I've already used our show to greet fans across the country. I heard you get along well with your teammates in the Rockets' locker room, right?

Yang: I guess so. The atmosphere in the Rockets is really good right now, the team is on a winning streak, everybody knows what they do, everybody has the ball to play. Especially since Paul returned... Paul and Harden are both very leading players, and with them on the court and leading by example off the court, we're all together and going together. Everyone's mind is to make a big career this season, challenge the Warriors, and even make it through the Western Conference finals to fight for the championship. I think as newcomers, especially Chinese players, Zhou Qi and I have been very well taken care of by the Rockets, probably the foundation laid in the Da Yao era, and we have benefited from it.

Liu: Did you make any friends in the team that were particularly close to you?

YJ: I have a good relationship with Eric Gordon, Clint [Capela], Ariza. Ariza is in the same position as me now, and he's given me a lot of experience as an NBA player, not just how to play on the court, but what attitude I have to approach my career off the court. Capela and I have known each other recently, and his upbringing with the Rockets has been a great inspiration to me, but I didn't expect him to talk so much in private before I met him (laughs). Eric [Gordon] was my first friend with the Rockets. He has a serious face when he plays, and he is really a joke off the court, and he can play with anyone, so I don't want to be friends with him.

Liu: Speaking of Capela, he's been doing so well lately that he's even made it to the MVP rankings. Did you communicate about this in private?

Yang: Absolutely. I know that domestic fans say that he directly became an MVP candidate by "eating cakes", and I am also envious. I always joke with him that I should change roles from time to time, let him do the dirty work of defense, make up defense, block blocks, get fouls, leave the game with six fouls, and let me taste the taste of cake. But he doesn't want to, I don't want to, Paul and Harden feed the cake so much, according to a certain commentator, it's just chewing the cake and stuffing it in your mouth, that taste, hahaha. Forget it, I'll focus on the role that Coach Mike D'Antoni gave me first. Do a good job of defense, and then talk about offense.

2/

Liu: But you're really the same as your name now, "blockbuster". I'm sure many Chinese fans didn't even hear of you before the Rockets' official announcement on October 14. Can you tell us how you felt when you received the notification from Team Rocket?

Yang: To be honest, I was surprised myself. Before the summer, one of the main games I played was actually the men's basketball game of the Tianjin National Games, and I represented the Beijing team. At that time, I did hear that there were scouts from the NBA and some European clubs who wanted to see young players in China, but I didn't expect the Rockets scouts to come to see me. So when the Rockets' management called, I was really surprised, I thought they were looking for the wrong person, you know. How could it be me, don't they usually have a tryout or something, and no one on Team Rocket's side contacted me before that phone call.

Liu: Can you give us a detailed description of the scene when you received the phone call?

Yang: I think it was the afternoon of the official announcement on October 14th, and they had already called me at two or three o'clock, but we didn't receive it because we were training. I saw a number starting with +001, which I had never seen before, and I thought it was a scammer's call, so I didn't pay attention to it. Then we were at the gym at exactly four o'clock, and the number came again, and I took it. He came up and asked me my name and then if I could speak English. I said that I could understand and speak some, and the other party said okay, then he spoke slowly, and if there was anything he didn't understand, you could tell us at any time, and then they introduced themselves. There were several people together at the time, saying that it was a conference call, but to be honest, I didn't understand their names, you know. Later I learned that General Manager Morey, Coach D'Antoni, and the team personnel manager and legal counsel were all on the phone. They told me a bunch of things, I can't remember the specifics, I was so excited, I just remember they said they wanted me to go to the Houston Rockets, and asked me if I would like to. I didn't even know what I was going to do, whether I had a ball or not, but I said go, I definitely went, and when I was needed, I would leave immediately.

Liu: What was the reaction of your teammates at the time, did you congratulate you?

Yang: When I answered the phone, my teammates were all working out at first, and then they all came around. Everyone was crazy, they could tell it was a very important offer, but they didn't know it was Team Rocket. Later I hung up the phone and told them that Team Rocket wanted me to go, and everyone was desperately congratulating me.

Liu: What about the team, what was the attitude of your parent team at that time, the Beijing Enterprises Men's Basketball Team?

Yang: Actually, a couple of coaches from the coaching staff were there at the time, and they were supportive right away. The leaders of Beijing Enterprises were also notified soon, and they told me as soon as possible that they would unconditionally support me and hope that I would not have any worries. To be honest, I have always been very grateful to the Beijing Enterprises men's basketball team in this matter, and I am very moved. I've been following them this year and they're playing well, so hopefully we can build on that in the second half of the season and make it to the playoffs. I'm cheering for these teammates on the other side of the ocean.

3/

Liu: Did you watch Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement ceremony last night?

Yang: Yes, you have to watch it. I think all the people on this planet who love basketball will watch it. Kobe Bryant is the embodiment of basketball love.

Liu: How did you feel when you watched Kobe Bryant's jersey retire?

Yang: To be honest, I feel a lot of feelings, but it's really hard to express clearly. To say that he is a memory of his teenage years may be a bit sensational. I think Kobe Bryant has a paragraph of his own saying for me, and it's very good. He said that today's jersey retirement ceremony is not about me personally, but about the meaning of the jersey. The dreams of these retired jerseys have been passed on from the previous generation, to me, to the next generation of players. In fact, sometimes it doesn't matter if you can retire your jersey number, what matters is the journey to pursue your dreams. When you complete this journey, great results – even greater than you had ever dreamed – will come.

Liu: Do you think there is a similarity to your current mood?

Yang: Yes. Although I was unexpectedly drafted to the Rockets, when I first came to Houston, I always had big goals and some visions for the future. For example, like Da Yao, he also hung his jersey on the Toyota Center of the Rockets, how many championship rings he got, entered the basketball hall of fame, and so on. But now my thoughts are more... It's transparent, maybe it's also inspired by a lot of seniors like Kobe, in fact, all I need to focus on is playing every game in front of me. The NBA is a rare journey, and even many people who are better than me don't have the opportunity to come here and try their skills, so why shouldn't I cherish this rare opportunity? I don't know how long I can play in the NBA or when I might go back, but if I don't have any regrets, the good results will come.

Liu: In your first season, do you have any results you want to achieve?

Yang: I'd like to try the best rookie first.