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In 1992, the United States showcased their best basketball talent with the “Dream Team” in Barcelona, Spain, Since then, the NBA has continued to grow its international brand and popularity. In 2002, China offered their best talent to the NBA when 7’6” Yao Ming was drafted first overall by the Houston Rockets.
Yao entered the NBA under unfair extreme criticism from current and former players. Yao took the criticism in stride, letting the media know that it did not bother him and cited the notion that Americans were joking with him. Yao played all 82 games of rookie season averaging 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.
His sophomore year recording 17.5 PPG and 9 RPG, once again, played in every game. That year, the NBA expanded it’s All-Start voting languages to three languages - English, Spanish, and Chinese. MIng led the Western Conference in voting over three-time Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal, whom had been one of Ming’s biggest critics since he entered the league.
Heading into his third season, armed with new head coach Jeff Van Gundy, Ming hit his stride and set new career highs in points (18.3) hitting another career-high in a game with 41 points. Once again, his popularity was apparent in the All-Star voting, receiving the most votes of any player and earning the starting center position for the Western Conference. The Rockets reached the playoffs since Ming was drafted where they were eliminated in the first round.
The Rockets looked to add a scorer on the parameter to help Yao when they signed Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic. Both Yao and McGrady were voted as starters for the 2005 All-Star game, with Yao receiving the most votes in NBA history, breaking Michael Jordan’s previous record of over 2.5 million votes. Once again, the Rockets made the playoffs, this time losing in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks in seven games.
At 26 years old, Yao started suffering more frequent injuries, most notably a left toe injury, playing in only 48 games. When he was able to play, Yao continued to improve on the offensive end into his fifth season. He finished the season with career-highs in points (25 PPG) to go along with 10.20 RPG.. Similarly to Yao, McGrady was also plagued with back spasms, missing a total of 47 games, damning the Rockets and missing the playoffs. In the following season, Yao endured a broken knee after attempting to block a shot. To that point he was averaging an improved 26.2 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 2.3 blocks per game.
In 2008-2009, his last competitive NBA season, Yao played in 77 games averaging 19.7 PPG and 9.9 RPG to go along with his 1.9 BPG. His numbers helped propel Houston into the playoffs once again.The Rockets met the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. With the Lakers leading the series 2-1, Yao was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his plagued left foot ruling him out for the remainder of the playoffs. The Rockets were ultimately bounced in seven games.
Yao had surgery to repair the hairline fracture and missed the entire next season. He tried to come back from the injury the next season but was only able to play in five games. Despite his absence from the lineup, his popularity did not diminish and he was voted to his eighth All-Star game. Ming announced his retirement back in China, reference his continued foot and ankle injuries as the reason for the demise of his career. In 2012, Yao was nominated for the NBA Hall of Fame, however, Yao requested that the nomination be delayed. The request was granted and Yao was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2016 along with Allen Iverson and his biggest critic, Shaquille O’Neal.
Yao Ming will forever be remembered for his unique mixture of talent, dedication, and humanitarian aspirations and sense of humor, cited by NBA commissioner, David Stern, as well as growing the popularity of basketball in China more than any other player did for his home country in history.
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