Yao Ming’s last game as a Houston Rocket was significant, and it happened right before our eyes in Washington, D.C.

November 10, 2010. Rockets versus Wizards. Yao versus Yi (Jianlian) on NBA TV. Millions and millions watching back in China.

Ming started for the Rockets that night alongside Ish Smith, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and Shane Battier. Houston’s bench featured Jordan Hill, Kyle Lowry, Chuck Hayes, Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, and Brad Miller. Jared Jeffries did not play and on Houston’s inactive list was Aaron Brooks, Jermaine Taylor (who the Wizards once traded to the Rockets for cash instead of drafting DeJuan Blair), and rookie Patrick Patterson — John Wall’s teammate at Kentucky, taken 14th overall in 2010, and interestingly enough, born in Washington, D.C.

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Sometimes I wonder if LeBron James’ spirit animal is Mitt Romney. I’m not quite sure what this means — and not to get all ‘political’ — but just bare with me. Romney was born into a rich family, and LeBron was born rich with physical gifts that the NBA has never seen before. Both, I’m sure, had to work hard to get to where they are. Both, I have seen, are capable of having emotional expressions on their face which appear obsessively calculated and robotic. (But who doesn’t have silly expressions on their face sometimes?)

What it boils down to is this: Can you see a young “Glove” Romney having all the fun in the world with a dollar bill, a fishing lure, and an inner city street near a homeless shelter? Certainly. And perhaps that’s the visual elicited from the below LeBron GIF-ery performed against the Wizards last night. Let’s watch…

Wait, what just happened? Let’s watch from another angle…

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[Ed. Note: Lukas Kuba (@Luke_Mellow) is TAI's foreign bureau correspondent on all things Czech Republic/Jan Vesely/Tomas Satoransky-related. —Kyle W.]

After this previous Truth About It.net post about Wizards 2012 draft pick Tomas Satoransky playing for the Czech national team in an attempt to qualify for EuroBasket 2013 got the ultimate praise from Wizards owner Ted Leonsis (Big thanks, Ted!), I couldn’t resist writing another. Of course, you can’t find it anywhere else but here at TAI…

Our main man Kyle Weidie updated you on the Czech Republic’s game fourth of the EuroBasket qualification, where they easily defeated Turkey, 82-64. I can add that the Czechs played great in this game, getting contributions from up and down the roster. Hell, when you have someone named Jakub Kudlacek hitting all his shots (14 points in 16 minutes), there’s almost no way your team can be beat. Also, this game was sort of a coming out party for 19-year-old Czech center Ondrej Balvin, who defended Turkey’s Semih Erden in the low post. The 7-foot-1 kid is the best Czech big man prospect since George Zidek, and he has NBA potential (I think). It was really a fun game to watch, and the hometown Czech fans really got into it, even doing the wave (as you can watch here).

Two days later, the Czech team showed how tight their collective bond is. First, in the streets of Chomutov, they tomato-ambushed their assistant coach, Mike Taylor (who is an assistant coach with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League); Taylor was celebrating his birthday. They then capped it off at a local ice hockey game by pranking Taylor with whipped cream in the face. Fun times.

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“It doesn’t really matter where you start it’s where you finish,” tweeted former Washington Wizard Andray Blatche just before 1 p.m. last Saturday. After workout with the Brooklyn Nets soon thereafter, Blatche has a new team, his second NBA team, via a minimum, one-year non-guaranteed contract.

An employment change can do wonders for some people. New, crisp shirts are purchased. A fresh haircut. Definitely a shave. Whatever else a transitional cleansing involves. When on new ground, the goal is to be extra visible to co-workers. Quickly respond to emails with a “thank you.” Buy people some coffee on a morning mission to the local shop. Don’t mind staying late.

No one necessarily knows if you were just as good at your old job, if you’re a climber, and have aspirations. Or if you hated your last boss—he was a dick. Or if you were severance packaged due to a numbers game or dwindling value. Or if you just felt it was time to move on. Or if you just plain sucked.

Except when your job is in the public eye. Even so, with the dissemination of man and woman unto social media, the lines between public figures and Joe Citizen are fading. Andray Blatche has represented the transition. He is that fading line.

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John Wall turned 22-years old on Thursday, September 6. Kevin Willis turned 50 on Thursday, too. (Could’ve sworn he was 60 … he was still playing in the NBA less than 2,000 days ago.) Who else celebrated a birthday on September 6? None other than Pippa Middleton, Foxy Brown (the rapper), Jeff Foxworthy (the redneck), Rosie Perez, and Idris Elba (Stringer Bell from The Wire). Now let’s check out some John Wall birthday club fliers — Wall surely won’t become the next “Party All Dray,” right? (H/T DC Sports Nexus)

First, there’s New York…

And then Miami, where there will be girls holding boobs, clearly…

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Hamady N’diaye, left, at 2010 Wizards Media Day

You heard right, John Wall is the longest tenured Washington Wizard. He was drafted first overall in 2010; Kevin Seraphin and Trevor Booker were taken in the same draft, but acquired via trade. Wall’s 4,992 NBA minutes are also twice the number logged by JaVale McGee, the Wizard with the second most minutes played over the last two seasons. Yep, 32 players aside from Wall have donned a Wizards uniform in the 148 team games over the 26-plus months since the “Game Changer” was introduced to the District on a red carpet. By the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the total number of Wall’s teammates in Washington will have climbed to 37, at least.

All those boarding on and off the USS Wizards had memorable moments good or bad (or infamous). Mike Bibby played the least amount of minutes over the last two seasons, but did score a single basket for the Wiz, and Truth About It.net was there to capture his thought-provoking reaction. Mustafa Shakur saw 159 minutes of action, 24th most, and got a whole DC Sports Bog post dedicated to his jersey malfunction. Othyus Jeffers, 314 minutes, 21st most, is still remembered and missed by faithful followers of the team.

Hamady N’diaye played 83 total minutes, 28th most, and was also drafted in 2010 (56th overall), but spent much more time on the Verizon Center practice gym than he did under the lights of the main court. N’diaye, known as “H,” is still highly regarded by Wizards team executives. “Look at the meat hook!,” exclaimed one with endearment as N’diaye threw up a sweeping hook shot at the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats; it missed.

What “H” is most remembered for is his positive attitude, his resilience during challenging life experiences, and his smile. Someone has to contrast the parade of bad characters who have hogged the attention of Wizards fans over recent seasons. What makes N’diaye’s story stick is that he comes from Senegal (discovered via the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program); that he had to deal with escaping a questionable prep school basketball experience in the U.S.; and that he prevailed against the odds, graduated from Rutgers as the Big East Defensive POY, and got drafted by the NBA.

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[Editor's Note: TAI Czech correspondent Lukas Kuba recently updated us on Wizards 2012 draft pick Tomas Satoransky and the Czech National team's road to EuroBasket 2013. Through three games, the Czechs were 2-1 in Group F qualifying play -- a win against Belarus, a loss to Italy, and a win against Portugal. On Monday, Satoransky and his teammates matched up against traditional power Turkey (also with a record of 2-1), featuring Semih Erden of the Cleveland Cavaliers and another Washington Wizards Euro-stash, Emir Preldzic.

Saty and the Czechs destroyed the Turks, 82-64. Tomas led all scorers with 16 points and added six rebounds, five assists (two turnovers), and five fouls-drawn to his stat line, and he only played 24 minutes. Preldzic chipped in 10 points, six assists, two turnovers, three rebounds, and three steals for Turkey in the loss. The Czech Republic will next face Belarus at home in Chomutov, CZE, and then will head to Trieste, Italy for a rematch with Italians on September 2. They will close out group play against Portugal on Sept. 5 and Turkey on Sept. 11.

Below, Lukas Kuba translates a July 2012 (before NBA summer league) Tomas Satoransky interview with Czech Basketmag titled, "Miracle No. 32." -Kyle W.]

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Who says child prodigies have no time to grow up, to be young?

… John Wall seems to be doing just fine.

Just like during last year’s NBA lockout summer, Wall this summer has made his way around the land like a Tribe Called Quest song. Instead of a mic, it’s a basketball… but he’s still having all the fun that a world tour can provide.

From NOC, there’s John Wall’s breakout story, set at a 2007 camp sponsored by Reebok where college coaches try to find breakout stories; Wall’s breakout happened in Philadelphia. One thing that’s clear about Wall, which is reflected in his passion for basketball, is how the tough times he faced as a kid are clearly reflected in his professional maturity.

Maybe you’ve already seen the 15-minute NOC feature that shows some old footage of Wall with coverage of today’s prospects at this year’s Reebok camp. Featured is Baltimore’s Aquille Carr, who is facing some tough times himself this summer (the prodigy nicknamed the “Crimestopper” was recently arrested for allegedly assaulting the mother of his child).

The key (to the summer) is exposure, as North Carolina coach Larry Brown says in the video; Oh, it’s also about the hair.

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[Ed. Note: Czech correspondent Lukas Kuba (@Luke_Mellow) brings an update on 2012 Wizards second round draft pick Tomas Satoransky.]

“Wizard teammates remembered my windmill because, as they say, white men can’t jump.”

Guess who made that quote? The guy who listens to Lil’ Wayne before games… you guessed right, it was Saty—Tomas Satoransky’s nickname back home in the Czech Republic. That quote’s from one the interviews he gave to Czech press after he returned from the United States and Summer League play in Las Vegas.

Satoransky was honest about the area he needs to improve most to take the next step: ”With regard to my strength, I’m not ready for the NBA, I gotta get stronger. Overall, summer league was a good experience and coach [Randy] Wittman could get to know me, which is important to the future.”

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[Yi Jianlian vs. Nene at the London Olympics, original image via AP]

D.I.Y. stands for “Do-It-Yourself,” and it’s all the rage amongst the hipster kids aiming to minimize reliance on others to get things done (trust funds be damned). D.I.Y. can involve noble satisfaction. Have a leaky sink? Fix it yourself. There, satisfied. In a sense, this entire self-published blog website started as a D.I.Y. But D.I.Y. doesn’t work so well on the basketball court, as Wizards fans are all too aware.

Nene is not a D.I.Y.-er, and for this, John Wall’s point guard ability will blossom. For that matter, the entire Wizards team could flourish when they relent to the reliance on others. Might you be listening, Jordan Crawford?

Nene and the Brazilian team moved to 3-1 in Group B play after deconstructing China on Saturday and will finish the preliminary round with a game against Spain today. With the 98-59 victory (Brazil doubled China’s score by halftime, 42-21), Nene didn’t even have to play in the final two quarters, resting whatever might ail him (such as his ongoing plantar fasciitis). A highly effective 11 minutes off the bench in the first half was all Brazil needed; Nene contributed six points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in this time span. Brazil’s entire team put on an impressive display of unselfish basketball, even with the knowledge that China, now 0-4 in group play, has little in terms of talent. Nene’s contributions to the Brazilian team could have implications on how the Wizards will run their offense next season, as they would like to incorporate the same unselfishness cultivated by Nene on the international stage.

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