Do you think Yao deserves to be in the hall of fame based on basketball merits?

Hands down yes. Before Zingis he was one of the few centers that could hit any shot inside the arc with confidence; he had good most moves, was an underrated passer, and had a silky smooth hook and turnaround. He was an underrated defender and if he had stayed healthy might have been the 06-07 MVP. The only thing that gives me pause is that he didn't even rack up 10,000 points over his career, but Yao was hardly a flash in the pan.

 

100% he is doing what I used to do when I started a thread no one agreed with.

DD

 

I voted no, but I was thinking about NBA only. He definitely deserves it for his play overseas and with China during world play. However, it's laughable to think he doesn't deserve it when you consider his impact on the game. The game of basketball was all over the world, then he entered the NBA and somehow reached out and pulled in fans that the game wasn't a priority for. Hell, I met a handful of people on this site and met one of my best friends because of Yao Ming. His impact is legit.

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Hmm, I'll let you know on my lunch break, after I finish pushing these Wal-Mart carts, whether he is worthy of such an honor.

 

Sam Fisher is an ******* who takes crap out of context all the time following me around like a lost puppy.

Obliterated? On an internet message board? Well ok then.

And yes, if someone is an ******* they are gonna get called for it.

There is no higher ground when you are dealing with the internet - and I rarely start threads any more.....

But you can admit you are wrong and the people that voted agree with the majority you will feel better.

DD

 

Yao Ming is the greatest basketball player from China who had a successful career in the NBA including being the best center of the game for a decent stretch before a career ending injury.

Yes, there is no doubt he deserves being in the Hall of Fame based on metrics.

 

Dude you are DD

he's jealous of you, you got the love of all Clutchfans even if they don't agree with you

99

 

Haters gonna hate!

 

Johnny Manziel says "hello".

 

Soooo, if you don't feel that Yao's on the court record doesn't qualify him for the BHOF and you are a member of the "African American contingent" then you are racist? Since when did you start channeling Rush Limbaugh? Oh and BTW, Jalen Rose is a noted dumbass and not a racist. You can literally hear the wind whistling through that big hole in his head every time he opens his mouth...

 

I am just calling it like it is, Yao took a ton of grief because he was not American, and most of it was from the African American contingent - wanting to push him around, call him soft, can't score, no way he was tough enough.

That is what I recognized, and Jalen Rose is still saying it today.

I don't care if people want to gloss it over, not my style.

DD

 

Actually I would have loved to see what would have happened if the Rockets had allowed Yao to play his original style of facing the basket (ala Dirk) instead of trying to turn him into Hakeem v2. As for him taking grief mostly from the brothers I believe that you are exercising selective memory here - sure there were some doorknobs like Barkley who were critical but I heard a lot of criticism from the Anglo contingent as well. It had more to do with folks' acceptance of him as a basketball player from China rather than him as a Chinese person. In fact, if you go back and look, Dirk Nowitski received similar criticisms of being "soft" because he was a 7 foot tall guy who played facing the basket hitting jump shots rather than playing with his back to the basket like a traditional 4 or 5.

As for whatever nonsense Jalen Rose says, WTF cares? If a fool is sprouting off foolish things over and over, and you KNOW that he's a fool, then why pay any attention or give any credence to whatever foolish thing that comes out of his mouth? I mean, why are you so sensitive? Not everyone is going to feel about Yao the same way we do here - it's just the nature of things.

 

I voted yes. Congrats big guy. Good to see another Houston Rocket in the HoF.

 

No,but its called basketball hall of fame,not nba hall of fame. If it were the nba hall of fame, alot of players wouldn't be in.

 

Yeah, he was soft, but he was effective. Being an African-American had nothing to do with him being soft to me. David Robinson was soft, but he a helluva player when he was healthy.

 

I am Chinese, never ever played basketball in my life, watch NBA because of Yao.

Barely speak English, joined clutchfans due to frequently quoted DD's posts in one of biggest Chinese sports forum, thought I may have left this forum since Lin's gone (yeah Asian basketball player matters). Well instead I've watched 90% of Rockets game in past 3 years, statistically a rockets fan now.
Planning a trip to Texas & Louisiana (definitely for Toyota Centre and true detective tour

Regarding NBA achievement Yao is not qualified for HOF, but basketball-wise he is well deserved to be in. I play soccer at least once a week for 20 years and check clutchfans & reddit/r/nba like everyday.