Yao Ming was a greatly skilled player who was quite unstoppable on the court. He had the advantage of big height (7’6″), but he was too big for the opponents. He always dominated the opponents on the court, but sadly injuries resisted him to achieve more. He is considered one of the greatest Chinese basketball players in NBA history.
Achievements of Yao Ming
. 2002-03 Sporting News Rookie Of The Year
. 8-time All-Star Games
. CBA Most Valuable Player
. Visionary of the Year
Undoubtedly he was one of the most skilled players at that time, but sadly his career was too short. He had to go through many injuries, like leg and foot fractures. Yao had a small career because of the injuries but was impactful too. Being that tall brings some disadvantages, and Yao had to face all of those. Had it not been for the injury, he would have played more and achieved more than many of the players at that time.
Robert Horry about Yao Ming
Robert Horry and Yao Ming are two of the most popular Houston Rockets of all time. In an interaction Horry expressed his thoughts on Yao Ming, he said :
He was so knowledgeable of the history of basketball, and I think that’s one of the things that never gets talked about, his IQ, because of his lower body wouldn’t have gone out, he’d probably be considered one of the greatest because he could play. He was very skilled, very smart.
Horry said that Yao had a very good knowledge of the game and a very good IQ.
Here’s a clip of Rookie Yao going against Prime Shaq for the first time in the NBA.
Shaq mocked Yao before the game and Yao shut him up in the first few minutes of their matchup with 3 early blocks and 2 quick buckets..
Yao was different beast!#Rockets pic.twitter.com/wkciWw1UQt
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) September 1, 2021
He won Second Team All-NBA two times and Third Team All-NBA three times. He also played a major role in getting the Rockets to their first playoff series win in over a decade.
However, he had different kinds of injuries in the lower body. The final injury came during the second round of the 2009 playoffs against Lakers.
He ended up with an average of 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. Fans still feel that he would have been the biggest thing.
