http://slamonline.com/online/2008/10/slamonline-top-50-yao-ming-no-15/ SLAMonline Top 50: Yao Ming, no. 15 The definitive ranking of the best players in the NBA today… by Emry DowningHall Yao Ming is the most important player in the NBA. If you don’t deduct points for China’s population, and overwhelming nationalism, he’s also the most popular. Standing 7-foot-6 inches and hailing from Shanghai, he’s a giant monument to the globalization of the game of basketball. When measuring the reach of an athlete’s popularity, I’ve found an excellent barometer is to find out whether my mother knows that the person exists. I came to terms with the fact my mother was out of touch with sports when she used to inquire about my own high school practices by asking, “How was rehearsal today, honey?” I’ve never fully recovered. I thought I would put Yao to the test, and in preparation for this article, I did what a good son should do, and hit her up. “Mom…do you know who Yao Ming is?” I asked. “Yao Ming? Yes, he’s a basketball player; in fact, I have his biography around the house somewhere. I picked it up for your father.” I wasn’t sure which was more impressive – the fact that she knew who he was, or the fact that she actually copped Yao: A Life in Two Worlds. Ric Bucher’s name must have really rang out. Why is Yao Ming no. 15 on this list? The Good: Yao represents everything right about the globalization of basketball. He possesses the star power to put fans in the seats, and has the skills and frame to adapt to the NBA style of play. His post game is fundamental, and his improvement represents the kind of work ethic everyone can appreciate from a superstar. At times his game may appear predictable but that’s by design. He’s 7-6, strong enough to hold position in the post, and smart enough to realize keeping the ball high eliminates a defender’s ability to guard him–listen to your coaches youngins’! His ability to make free throws at an extremely high rate also allows him to remain in the game in crunch time. The Rockets will place Yao in the middle of the court to break a press, and his name is often called to shoot technical foul shots. His ability to find cutters, and see movement develop from the block is something all big men should aspire to, and why the Rockets dump the ball into Yao on nearly every possession. His athleticism for a man his size is unbelievable. If you get the chance to see the Rockets play live, take it. Yao runs the floor with amazing grace, and although he’s not quick, he covers the court very well. He sets the type of screens that give knockdown shooters wet dreams, and knows how to run the offense through his position. Beyond basketball, he serves as an ambassador for China. He is responsible for billions (no joke) of NBA fans. He’s also indirectly responsible for one of TNT’s and Charles Barkley’s greatest moments. The Bad: For all the positive things you can say about Yao, his inability to remain healthy over the past three seasons is the reason he doesn’t appear higher on this list. Despite initial skepticism of his ability to stay healthy, Yao brushed his shoulders off and missed only two games in his first three seasons in the NBA. He then missed a total of 86 games the following three seasons. Although Yao reported to Rockets camp healthy this season, and he did appear fit during the Olympics, I think there are legitimate long-term concerns about his body’s ability to handle the grind of an 82-game NBA season. His stature illustrates, not surprisingly, a catch 22: his size is a clear advantage in matchups, but that same build takes an undeniable toll on his body. And how does he monitor that? As basketball fans, we should all be rooting for Yao. After he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot this past season, his oft-reserved emotions cascaded into view. He expressed feelings of failure and felt as if he had let his team and his country down. Though listed as China’s wealthiest athlete, Yao wouldn’t be ballin’ for the bucks; even if he were traded to Milwaukee. With Ron Artest added to the Rockets’ lineup, 2008-09 is the most important year yet for the legacy Yao will leave. If he’s able to remain healthy and get Houston out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career, history will remember Yao fondly. On the other hand, if he is forced to once again miss significant time due to injury, there will be enough fodder to validate claims that dueling between the NBA and his commitment to Chinese professional basketball has proven too much for the icon. I’m not asking you to root for the Rockets, but next time you’re raising your glass, why not toast to Yao’s health? David Stern and 1,321,851,888 Chinese basketball fans will thank you for it. Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.
sounds like my mom she only knows a few basketball players her favorite was "charlie barkley" as she put it and she knows who Yao Ming is.
My mom knows a few more... pretty much anyone who went through UK and started. That was a good little review though. Thanks for sharing.
Yao deserves this attention, and it's good to see Rockets have 3 of the Top 50 players (Yao @15, T-Mac @ 20 and Ron @ 41) Here we come, the new TRIO!
Yao @15, injury T-Mac @ 20, injury Ron @ 41, "mental injury" Imagine if all 3 have great seasons.....we basically got 3 top 20 talent in the NBA. (Ron Ron can even be top 5 defensive/offensive).
let's not forget that rick adelman is still the most important person on this team. he's been making good decisions last year and injuries are out of his control. he's had no problem blending personalities. his dog house is not as big as jvgs.
This can't be right. Just last night many posters were saying he's washed up and Rox need to trade his @ss ASAP.
I doube the "fact" that yao is the wealthiest athelet in china because yao's actual yearly income is far from 15m rockets team pays him as salary. If we take his incomes for advertisement, then his yearly income should reach 30m before paying the tax. In us, as we all know, yao has to pay nearly half of his total income to US, say he's to pay 15m or little bit less as tax. However, no other NBA roster can avoid paying the tax even though yao is not US citizen, he should still pay the tax becasue he makes the money here in US where you should do anything according to the law. No state has a law that allows a foreigner to get rid of paying tax. However again, yao should be still quite rich and still be the wealthiest athelet in China or even in US one day in future, but ... as I said before, yao's actual yearly income is just 3m. 3m is a huge amount of money, and common citizens as we are, we should be satisfied with that salary of 3m per year. But 3m/yr is even several millions lower than the middle level in NBA while yao is the 15th best player. How incredible is that? then where's yao's money gone? As we all know, yao has to go back to China for national duties each summer, but yao has another big mission besides visviting home. after paying the US taxes, yao still retains about 15m dollars which can still make him the wealthiest athelet in china, but he is gonna lost the 12m during his home-visiting. he shares his money with this department and that, and taht n that........reluctantly for sure. but he still has to show his unreluctance to do so. finally, he just retains 3m or less dollars when he returns to houston. I don't know too much details about china so the former comments are just my personal assumptions and I apologize if I have misunderstood the situation in china.
That reminds me, ya know if similar Q was proposed to "mom" in mid 90s of China, the A would likely be: Michael Jordan? Yes, he’s a basketball player; in fact, I have his biography around ... hehe, a facetious remark... well, maybe 1,321,851,888 Chinese Ping-Pong fans, I assume
duh. he purposely misspells albert einstein and the theme to his posts are misspellings and ramblings
Wow Manu a better player ranking wise than Yao. http://slamonline.com/online/2008/10/slamonline-top-50-manu-ginobili-no-14/
The fool thinks making incoherent rants filled with grammatical and spelling mistakes (probably on purpose like someone has already pointed out) is funny. Well, I think I laughed at it the first time. but he has been doing that for the last three months or so. Yes, he is wasting the bandwidth of this site. I don't disagree with that. But I think the more serious problem of his behavior is that he is abusing his right as a member here. I have seen at least 10 people told him that he is annoying. But he just keeps doing it without even bothering to respond. To me, this is a very arrogant and selfish person with the attitude that "I am a member here and I have the right to do whatever I want, no matter how stupid and r****ded it is. What can you do? Bite me?" Well, maybe he is right. What can we do?
Just to clarify, I mean I agree with what someone else has said that this fool is wasting the bandwidth of this site.
Or, maybe he's telling the truth and he's mentally r****ded. He's not breaking any rules, as far as I can tell.
