An online poll on a Chinese social media site found that 57 percent of respondents — many in the NBA's target young-adult demographic — would not watch the NBA, according to a report on ESPN.com.
"What's the point of watching the NBA now?" one user said in the report.
Since Yao's arrival in 2002, China has grown into the NBA's largest market outside the U.S., with Yao as the nation's most beloved figure.
