Yao was completely about the Rockets, he was never about his brand and he never made any weird excuses Yao was real
Was. Is. And Shall Always be Genuine. Now hes a bidness man and all about his wine and his Sharks, along with his other countless ventures. Oh yeah, hes also saving the planet at the same time. If Hakeem is the greatest Rocket ever, Yao is just a notch below him in my book. Very happy for him.
This. Yao didn't meed a brand to be recognized for what he was. An all time great who's career was undeservedly cut short.
sometimes i think maybe it's a bit harder to be the franchise player of the houston rockets than to be on many other teams. hakeem and yao have set the bar high...
At the risk of sounding ugly, I have to imagine Yao's international popularity contributed to his HOF election. He played such a short career and even that time was plagued by injuries.
I think he was famous enough to make it, which for me, is part of it. He had character. He changed the game to some degree. I'm not sure he earned it on the court though as he was not legendary on the court. He was quite good, but not a legend.
Shame on those who are hating on this. Though I imagine it's more trolling to get a rise out of ppl. This man was a true Rocket. Any self proclaimed Rockets fan should be happy for him and congratulatory because he played his heart out for this team and did it with grace and modesty. No need to play devil's advocate and belittle this man's accomplishments. Let's just be happy.
I'm happy for him, but come on, it seems like some outside forces contributed to this. Last time I checked, "being a true Rocket", "grace" and "modesty" don't get you into the Hall.
All players inducted to the HOF are evaluated on their entire body of work. For some, it includes their collegiate career. For others, their coaching. In Yao's case, it's the combination of his international influence both on/off the court. People, not saying you, that are nitpicking and saying Yao doesn't deserve to be in the HOF, don't understand that being selected for the HOF isn't solely based upon the player's NBA playing career, but rather it's many other factors.
ok that makes more sense. I just went to the HOF website and did see quite a variety of folks. For example, the "Harlem Globetrotter team" is a member, as well as Coach K from Duke.
