Of course not. If we're raising Yao's jersey, we might as well do the same for Steve Francis. He's been the face of the franchise too. The fact is, there hasn't been a player worthy of this honor since the Hakeem-Clyde era.
As much as I want him to be retired, he needs to get back to his old self and if that happens it will happen.
This is hilarious. The guy has not accomplished ANYTHING at all yet for the Rockets and you want to hang his jersey on the rafters with our other legends? Let's take a look at him: - Bring success to the team... hardly. Last time I checked, his tenure is mostly marked by postseason failures, injuries, and we still have only two O'Brian trophies. - Bring the team and city more visibility... not really. There may have been hype initially, but players that actually matter are still going elsewhere. Nowadays, the only publicity Yao brings is the big question of "When will he come back again?" - "1.4 billion fans" is something that makes me laugh. You mean all those worthless YOF riding him like the worthless parasitic sluts they are? If anything, those r****ds make our fan base look worse. If by getting rid of Yao, we lose all those mindless ****s, then that in itself is a good enough reason for me for the Rockets to dump Yao. Yao has not done anything for the Rockets that warrants his place with the rest of the Rockets legends.
Yes, his jersey would probably be retired due to the amount of money the franchise is making from him, through merchandise and whatnot.
If they retire his jersey it will only be because the NBA and the Chinese sponsors will presure them to do it marketing wise. Certainly not basketball-wise.
Houston will retire his Jersey because he is the 1st Asian Basketball player who had a huge impact globalizing NBA in China (the largest market in the world). I compare this to the Jackie Robinson era. That alone is enough to hang his Jersey. If you don't understand that statement, you need a history lesson.
He is still an All Star every single year and still put up great numbers before his injury. You can compare him to Drazen Petrovic who was retired by the Nets.
No WAY Yao deserves to have his jersey retired. NO WAY. Not at this point anyway, it would take a comeback of epic proportions. Meaning, he would need to do more than just "come back"...he would need to be even better than he ever was before AND stay healthy for 2-3 years. I don't see that happening.
So 7 all-star selections in 7 years, all with the Rockets, isn't enough for him to have his jersey retired?
If you made one of your poll choices... o Just Another Stupid Thread... I Guarantee that would win by a landslide.
Just for the record, I would retire Yao's Jersey. 7 All star, quite a few 50 win seasons, and decent career averages. He also did make Rockets a national and international team. Though I don't know about him bringing 1.4 Bn fans... maybe 20 million that will support the Rockets even after he leaves and about 200+ million people who would complain about how Yao would have been great if he just played on the Lakers and had competent management to bring in a PG that can just give him the ball and would follow the Lakers after Yao retires .
Whether or not he's deserved it, Yao has been selected to the all-star team every year he's been eligible, and that's more than enough for his jersey to be retired.
