The Yao-Yi match-up was viewed by an estimated 200 million Chinese basketball fans, who woke up at 9:30 a.m. local time to watch the two superstars go head-to-head. By comparison, last season’s NBA Finals between the Spurs and Cavaliers drew about five or six million viewers per game, and most of them were asleep by the second quarter.

First off, I think it’s been pretty well established by now that Milwaukee Bucks’ rookie Yi Jianlian’s first name (or last name?) is pronounced like the letter “e.” That being said, headlines that read “Yi Harmony” followed by subheads like “Rook-Yi L-Yi-ds Milwauk-Yi to Victor-Yi” are starting to get a little bit old and confusing by now. The worst such headline I’ve come across read “Earl-Yi Surprise.”

Give me a break.

Still, it’s hard to fault writers for trying to get a little creative. After all, they’ve had to use Yi’s name a lot of headlines during the still-young NBA season (or “s-Yi-son”).

Although the Bucks are off to a somewhat slow start, the sixth overall pick that originally refused to play in Milwaukee is indeed playing, and playing quite well. Through the first six games of the season, Yi has averaged nearly 12 points and six rebounds per contest, with 47 percent shooting.

Along with his smooth jump shoot and rebounding ability, he’s been ignoring the advice of his veteran teammates and actually playing defense, recording averages of one steal and two blocks a game prior to the most recent home stand.

Yi’s play out of the gate has been good enough for a second-place mark in NBA.com’s Week One Rookie Ratings, behind only Sonics’ star Kevin Durant.

While Yi has made an impact with his solid performance on the court, it’s his impact off the court that will really help his team in the long haul. As the second major Chinese export to the NBA, Yi has earned the Bucks instant global recognition, much like Yao Ming did for the Houston Rockets.

Bandwagon Bucks fans in China will surely bring in more revenue, be it via ticket or merchandise sales, and hopefully the influx of new fans will help the Bucks stay in Milwaukee once talk re-surfaces about the Bradley Center’s lapsing lease. Just how many new fans, you ask? Well, a lot, I answer.

The Bucks recently squared off against Yao and the Rockets in Houston, and despite getting their butts kicked, the trip went pretty well.

The Yao-Yi (pronounced Yowee) match-up was viewed by an estimated 200 million Chinese basketball fans, who woke up at 9:30 a.m. local time to watch the two superstars go head-to-head. By comparison, last season’s NBA Finals between the Spurs and Cavaliers drew about five or six million viewers per game, and most of them were asleep by the second quarter.

So, yeah, 200 million is a lot of people.

Yi will certainly provide the Bucks with plenty of off-the-court attention this season, as Milwaukee is now recognized on a global and maybe even national scale.

The question is will Yi continue to have success on the court and possibly challenge Durant for the Rookie of the Year? I guess we’ll just have to wait and s-Yi.

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