Australian slang gun = elite theirs nothing wrong with new fans, at one time or another we were all new fans, but like me since 2002 i educated myself on the teams history since they moved to h-town
Other Dikembe Mutombo. Hated how his career ended. What a fascinating human being. A former star athlete who gets it. As much as he has been giving back to humanity, I offer up this little vote of health as a small token of respect. (For basketball reasons, I'd vote for Sampson)
either was I, but doing a little bit of research on red nation and its players makes the CF's experience alot more enjoyable
I believe this one of the reasons people picked Yao, the other one being that they truly enjoyed his play as a Rocket. Seeing him play so well vs Portland and then getting hurt vs the Lakers was devastating. However in terms of accomplishments, the bar was set with Dream/Sampson defeating a legendary Laker team to lose in 6 games to an all time great Celtics team with Bird/McHale in the NBA Finals. We knew we were NBA Finals material with the Twin Towers because they made it there. Didn't know if we could have beaten the Lakers with Yao, but we got them to game 7. Would have love to see it. A special place in Rockets fans heart for that team because we know that to win a playoff series it's not "it's on me" its about having TRU WARRIORS like Yao .
Interesting question. I voted for Yao, but for more of sentimental reasons than for what would be better for our team. There's no question that Sampson and Hakeem healthy would have had the potential to be dominant for years. Yao probably wouldn't have had that- he never had good enough players around him. But I just always hated when Yao got injured because it seemed like he had so much desire to play and to compete. I remember the game in the 2009 playoffs against the Lakers when he got hurt (I think it was game 3?). The trainers were taking him into the locker room, but he stopped in the tunnel and basically fought with them to let him go and play more. He had so much drive and desire, and I respect that. For that reason, I vote for him.
Obvious answer is Ralph. He was truly special. My next choice would be McGrady, who despite his failures was a better player than Yao.
He is actually jumping that high. In some of the plays, he's jumping over a 7-4 Mark Eaton. Ralph Sampson could grab a quarter off the top of the backboard.
A case can be made for only two guys: Yao and Sampson. Based on the fact I wasn't around in the 80s and have been around to witness Yao - in all his humbleness - so I must go with him. The way he handled all the difficulties he had to deal with coming to the US, being in the NBA and still having to deal with being a giant Asian who stands out and was punished for his character, was awe-inspiring.
This was a tough one because I wanted to pick Yao/Tmac since I could've watched them play but I decided to not let that factor into my decision and picked Ralph Sampson. That twin tower combo with Hakeem would've devastated the league. It was also the perfect combo to beat the Lakers who were dominating the West at that time period. The fact that we beat showtime to make it to the finals in '86 and then take the Celtics who were one of the best teams of all time to 6 games really speaks to what could've been accomplished had Sampson not crumbled.
I agree with your assessment on Yao / Sampson, but how can a case not be made for the other guys, particularly TMac?
Would health to Yao Ming, why? Because if he was healthy then he would still be playing for the Rockets right now and without a doubt be the best center in the NBA.
If that 86 team had stayed together, they would have crushed the Lakers. That team was just awesome, and as young as the team we have now. Hakeem was only in his second year in the league. Further, it was the Lakers that went on to beat the Celtics and win championships in 87 and 88. The memories.
Yao for both his on the court and off the court stuff. I just found him more entertaining in general.
It is easy to say Yao and TMac...but the Rockets were title contenders with Sampson and Hakeem...Sampson and Hakeem wouldve given us a title earlier than the 93-94 season for sure...Sampson and "Akeem" got to the Finals and ran into the juggernaut Celtics. After that series, the Rockets were genuinely feared by the Lakers and the Celtics. And then as fate would have it, the Rockets literally fell of the map with some terrible misfortune. Yao would/should be #2...Yao was having a dominant season and his trajectory as an athlete was improving every year, until his first injury and then it was all downhill for Yao...I would argue that Yao for his size has one of the best post games in history. He would destroy opponents if they single covered him. His greatest weakness was not using his towering size to his advantage, and eventually his body failed him. Yao shouldve been a bad bad man. He turned out to be a gentle giant and proves the saying that nice guys do finish last. Speaking of nice guys, TMac would be #3...bc he really was the best player the Rockets had since Hakeem left. There is no question. Mcgrady was one of the great scoring wings prior to his arrival to Houston. It was Kobe or Mcgrady. The refs jacked us in the Dallas series. The Utah series was his emotional killer, and he never recovered from that devastating loss. His health, especially in the season the Rockets did advance past the first round would helped the Rockets go further than the Lakers series...If Yao, TMac and Artest(along with Scola, Battier, Brooks, Lowry, Landry, and Mutumbo...)held up together as advertised during the 2008-2009 season, that team wouldve been in the finals facing Howard and the Magic...That was the best team/supporting cast McGrady had during his entire tenure as a Rocket.
Yao probably would have been a better player over a longer period of time had he not been forced to play during the offseason. His body never had a chance to rest, and he never had the opportunity to focus on developing strength/conditioning for the NBA season. Saying that he didn't use his size well is kind of flabbergasting. His size was all he had, and he pretty much maximized its use - he was rarely out of position and knew that just getting his hands up was enough to significantly contest most shots. He was never very quick (especially given his size), so he did the smart thing and stayed in the paint to contest shots. Not everyone can roam around and smack balls into the seats all day.
