David Stern is glad to see Houston Rockets all-star center Yao Ming return after a more than year-long layoff due to injury, saying Yao was important to the NBA, the Rockets and China.

"It's always better for us to have a healthy Yao. China is a very important market for us. People have higher interest when Yao's on court. So we are looking forward to having him back next season," Stern said.

"I think Houston is also a threat for the championship when Yao is playing. It will be a very good year for Yao and Houston," he said.

Yao's influence was evident at Wednesday's first NBA China Game at the sold-out Wukesong Arena.

He garnered the loudest cheers and his teammates also enjoyed the local fans' support when Yao was on the bench.

Since Yao was picked by the Rockets as the No 1 draft selection in 2002, the NBA has seen remarkable development of the sport in China and has gained massive returns from the market.

When asked how it would be different after Yao retires, Stern said Yao would play a different role but his influence would remain.

"He has become the Chinese ambassador because he is so popular here. After he retires, we look forward to a partnership with Yao which will enhance basketball development in China," Stern said.

Yao's role has already started to change. He became the owner of his home team, the Shanghai Sharks, last year and his influence inspired the struggling team to a fourth-place finish in the CBA league.

Stern said to be a boss of a team or a league was a tough job but believed Yao would do a good job.

"He is going to know how hard it is to own a team and to run a team. I think he did not have any experience having a team. He will have more appreciation of how difficult it is to run a league," he said. "But I think he is very smart and he could do a very good job. They finished fourth last season and they can now have an extra foreign player next season. We will see."

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