Speaking of Tim Duncan's jersey retirement.......how the hell did Bruce Bowen and Avery Johnson get their jersey's retired? I guess that is San Antonio for you. Better get read for the Ginobili, Parker and Leonard jersey retirements. When do the Rockets retire Horry's, Elie's and Cassell's jerseys?
That's a lot of negativity for negativity's sake. Celebrate another Houston great, don't denigrate, stop the hate.
Well, your posting pattern on all things would say otherwise Yes its his shtick by now, over-critical "truth" bombing. (& I c wut u did ther) I DONT think Yao's # should be retired honestly. Not on pure basketball. But I don't think Chinese relations should be understated either. Yes it led to skewed voting and abuses, but presense of the big China man like it or not was a needed positive cultural influence. It is a "bigger than the game" SYMBOLIC thing
Rockets players with retired numbers by win share: Olajuwon - 160.6 (1177 games) Murphy - 84.1 (1002 games) Tomjanovich - 70.4 (768 games, retired as a player before coaching) Malone - 70.0 (464 games) Yao - 65.9 (486 games) Drexler - 26.9 (219 games) It's really not that unreasonable even if you just look at pure basketball.
Looking at how many wins they participated in is not "pure basketball". Yao was never MVP. He never led us deep into the playoffs. It's clear the reasons his number will hang are more than just basketball. I'm OK with that. But there's no need to confuse the issue.
Yao was the best big man of his era. He was better than the young Dwight and aging Shaq. But the nba was already heading towards a guard dominated game. If not for the injuries, Yao could be playing today, he's really not that old. Yao was underrated. If we could have Yao on this current Rockets team, your mind would explode.
None of that makes Yao any more worthy of inclusion. A 7+ footer that needs the ball in the post and can't run the floor on this team? Yeah, sounds like a recipe for success.
You obviously hate the player, or his nationality. That you cannot see how versatile Yao's game actually was. Yao did not become a post player until JVG molded him into one. He was face up 5 under Rudy and actually was a very good ball handler and passer. The best big in your era is less worthy than Rudy? Or Murph? Or even Glide, who was only on the Rockets for 3 seasons. Sounds like you are trying to rationalize the irrational, objectify the subjective, love to hate.
How many winshares does harden have with the rockets? It's got to be pretty high he's been top 5 almost every year he's been here I think.
Damn! I bought ticketsto go to the 2/2 game specifically for the ceremony. Any chances Toyota Center will let me exchange?