As we all know, Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi and Battle are the three greatest centers in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team, but in fact, when talking about the center in the history of the Chinese men's basketball team, there is one more person that has to be mentioned, that is, the former Beijing team center Shan Tao. Someone once joked that he was the only one who had bullied China's three major centers, and even Battle, who debuted in the first year, had to call him a big brother. And Shan Tao's style of playing can only be described in two words, that is, tough.
Shan Tao, born in 1970, 2.16 meters tall and weighing 125 kilograms, is a relatively technical center, his body is very strong, the offensive means are diverse, especially good at small hookers and mid-range shooting. Since 1990, he has been the main center of the Chinese men's basketball team, helping China win the 1990 and 1994 Asian Games championships, and at the 1994 World Championships, he also helped the Chinese team reach the quarterfinals.
Born in 1970, Shan Tao is exactly 10 years older than Yao next year, and he is also one of the founders and creators of the first peak of Chinese basketball. In the domestic league, he was one of the CBA's veteran players since the first season of the CBA in 1995, and he also formed a frightening twin-tower combination with Battle, who had just debuted at the time. The two duo's interior line combination once blew up the twin towers in the CBA. In fact, it is precisely because of the existence of Shan Tao and Battle that Wang Zhizhi is determined to leave Beijing and join Bayi.
Although Shan Tao has not played in the CBA for a long time, he has played for many teams, and has played in many teams such as Jinan Military Region, Shenzhen, Beijing Aoshen, Xinjiang, Dongguan and Shanxi. Of course, what really makes fans remember the name Shan Tao is his iron-blooded temperament. It is said that after Shan Tao retired, when someone said that he was old and could not do it, he would always say, who dares to say that I can't do it, just go to the court and single it out.
And about Shan Tao's deeds, there is actually a small story. This small allusion may still be remembered by veteran fans, that is, at the 1994 World Championships, as the main center of the Chinese team, Shan Tao once scared off the shark O'Neal with a roar. At that time, the two teams were preparing to jump the ball, and the witty Shan Tao knew that he could not jump the big shark, and cleverly said a sentence: "Oh, sleeper", and this sentence directly frightened O'Neal and directly gave the racket to the Chinese team. And Shan Tao has also become a tough guy in the minds of Chinese fans because of this sentence.