Team to honor center by retiring #11

13.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.6 BPG, .780 FT% and two All-Star appearances.

He definitely doesn't have the numbers, but this was a good response to that I read:

Sounds a lot like our man Yao. Good for Big Z and I'll be thrilled for Yao when our own #11 goes up in the rafters too.

 

Me, too.

 

Looking at it from strictly a "retiring Z's number as precedent" perspective, sure Yao probably deserves a jersey hung as well.

Z, with Cleveland: 771 games, 71 playoff games, series record 8-6
Yao, with Houston: 486 games, 28 playoff games, series record 1-5

(these numbers are presented for your discussing pleasure, however it also makes me sad that we got such precious few games with Yao)

 

There’s no point in discussing stuff like playoff records to compare Yao and Big Z as players. Yao was unquestionably much better.

The difference here is the legends that Houston has retired as opposed to the players Cleveland has retired. Since we’ve got Hakeem, Moses, and Clyde up there, fans think the next player that goes up has to live up to that standard. Stuff like character and tenure with the franchise don’t mean as much when you look at what those players achieved.

I used to kind of think the same way, but really a jersey retirement is just about honoring someone who meant an incredible lot to your franchise. Yao was really unlucky, but he was still a damn good player; and his pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into the Rockets still meant a lot to me.

 

110% dedication to your team & city needs to be rewarded!