How many times did Alex English take the Nuggets to the Finals? How many times did Rolando Blackman take the Mavs to the Finals? How many times did Dominique Wilkins take ANY team to the Finals?
Yao put Rockets on the world map, Yao made Rockets China's NBA team. Yao made Les richer, Yao made Stein richer. Yao also made his teammates household names name in China. Yao made his teammates richer. For Rockets fans, sorry ... Yao didn't bring a championship. But the fans' opinions don't really matter, isn't it? It's for the owner to decide whether or not to retire Yao's jersery, and it's an easy decision to make.
but...but...but that was the most glorious achievement of the Rockets organization in this past decade.
CONGRATS YAO!!!!! One of all time favorite rockets!! Thanks to him I started following the Rockets as a kid.
Dear Mr. Yao, Please come out from retirement and join this Rocket team. May be you can try a 10 days contract, or another 10 days, then sign for the rest of the season. You can play 5 minutes a game if you wish, or 20 minutes if you can. We have the perfect team for you: - 2 of the best Pick and Roll guards in the league in Lin and Harden. - Stretch 4 to give your space inside in PP and Morris - Defensive wing will good passing skill in Parson. - Defensive big to back you up, or protect you in twin tower line up in Asik. - The best GM is finding role players in Morey Thanks you. Best regards, Rocket fans.
congrats yao, you deserved it! when i was a kid i remember seeing him on a discovery channel special about tall people when he lived in china. he said his favorite player was michael jordan, and that he wanted to be in the NBA someday. then came 2002 draft and the rest is history!
Shouldn't have blocked his legs. If no one knew Yao, it would look like Yao was normal height standing on a ledge.
Yao was awesome. No question though that if an American born player had put up those numbers and had the limited playoff success Yao had, that his jersey would not have been retired. But Yao's story was a lot more about being a connection for the NBA to the Chinese market and, even more importantly, being a sort of diplomat between the two most powerful countries in the world -- countries which have not always been on the best of terms, to say the least. Yao's jersey needs to be in the rafters not so much because of what he did on the court, but because his time on the Rockets had an international impact economically, diplomatically and culturally for billions of people. I'm glad to see the Rockets doing this. I miss Yao and his dry yet sharp jokes. The Rockets have gone nearly a decade and will most likely go several decades more before they get someone on the team that combines the on court success with the character and personality that Yao had.
Alright, I'm getting tired of this revisionist history, but here's the truth : T-Mac was a big part of that 22 game win streak that happened mostly when Yao was hurt. That win streak put us into a decent seed which landed us the most beatable playoff opponent in Yao's era, Portland. Yao ended up being injured along with T-Mac and the rest of the team rallied and then in the second round took the eventual champion Lakers to 7 games (thanks to guys like Aaron Brooks, Battier, Artest, Mutombo and Landry.) Yao didn't take us anywhere. He was a very good guy and the best center in a generation lacking of centers. But he is special because he brought the nba to China. That is primarily the reason he is getting his jersey retired. T-Mac will never get his jersey retired either in Houston or Orlando because he was an a-hole. But in terms of statistical accomplishment, T-Mac was one of the best in an era of some of the best guards to play the game. At one point, he was just as good or better than Kobe, one of the greatest sg of all time. T-Mac will never get his due.
