In the video below, Yao talks about his once in a lifetime chance to play in the Olympics on his home soil and the pressure he feels. He also talks about the value of his Olympic opponents, and how difficult it will be for China to secure a place in the finals.

He also explains the design and inspiration behind his newest basketball shoe from Reebok, the Pump Omni Hexride. The shoe was created in celebration of the Olympics and includes some personal touches, such as his own signature logo.

Only 2,008 individually numbered pairs of the exclusive Pump Omni Hexride will be available starting today for all of China. In addition, coming soon, select retailers in the US and in Europe will carry the Pump Omni Hexride, however the collection will not be numbered in these markets.

Five of these Reebok shoes will be auctioned off to raise funds for Yao’s newly established Yao Ming Foundation, which Reebok has committed to support. In this footage, Yao’s welcome back to China and his new foundation is featured as he prepares for the upcoming Olympic games.

Pictures of the shoe are available on this Flickr page. For more information visit Reebok’s site.

China beat Iran 75-46 on Friday in the FIBA Diamond Cup tournament in Nanjing, finishing third overall and the top team in Asia. Because it was such a blowout, Yao Ming only played 19 minutes and scored 12 points (4-of-8 FGs), grabbed 4 rebounds, but missed 3-of-7 free throws.

Yao contained the top scorer in the tournament, center Hadem Ehadadi, drawing 2 quick fouls from him within first 5 minutes of the game.

Liu Wei returned from his rib injury the other day, controlling the tempo and and setting up Yao nicely on offensive sets, allowing China to take a 19-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.

China played much better defense than they did against Australia, as did the power forwards. Wang Zhizhi finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds assist in 25 minutes. Yi Jianlian also played 25 minutes, scoring 8 points (4-of-7 FGs) and grabbing 9 boards. Du Feng only played for 10 minutes, but scored 9 points (3-of-4 from 3-point land).

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