I heard Mark V on 610 this morning arguing with someone that just because someone is 7'6" doesn't mean they should be grabbing 20 and 10 every night. So I looked up the best points, rebounds and block season averages for the tallest players. Top 10* Tallest** Players in NBA History with their best season average in each category Code: Player Height PPG RPG BPG --------------------------------------------------- Yao Ming 7'6" 25.0 10.8 2.0 Ralph Sampson 7'4" 22.1 11.1 2.4 Arvydas Sabonis 7'3" 16.0 10.0 1.1 Rick Smits 7'4" 18.5 7.7 2.1 Shawn Bradley 7'5" 14.6 8.8 3.6 Gheorghe Muresan 7'7" 14.5 9.6 2.3 Mark Eaton 7'3" 9.7 11.3 5.6 Manute Bol 7'6" 3.7 6.0 5.0 Chuck Nevitt 7'5" 3.8 2.8 2.0 Priest Lauderdale 7'4" 3.7 2.6 0.4 * Slavko Vranes, 7'5" omitted. only played 3 minutes in 1 game ** Heights taken from basketballreference.com It looks like Yao and Ralph are the only ones to have done it to date (hence the post in the Rockets forum). I think a younger Sabonis probably would have as well. Kareem was just a freak, but at 7'2", didn't quite make the cut.
Rebound rate could be higher for Yao... but Yao has something that most people on that list doesnt have and thats a sweet post game
TB-Cain you make a valid point. When people are that tall people have unrealistic expectations. This is caused by the fact that people only look at the advantages of being tall, and completly ignore the disadvantages (like slower reaction time). Most people have no idea what it is to be tall. My guess is most people here are not even above 6"5. and no nothing about the disadvantages of being tall. However, when you look at Yao you just get the feeling that he should be able to average 20-10. But that is based on his talent and workmentality and not his height.
I don't get why height gets brought up so much to bash Yao or even in his defense. He should be compared to the people he plays against which are bigs, of many different heights. He shouldn't be expected to get alot of rebounds because he's tall but because he is our franchise big man.
I wonder at times why Yao cant play defense like Mark Eton? I think he should be the perfect example for Yao. He was about just as quick or slow as Yao laterally, but he use to be a tough match up for Dream. He used his height to his advantage by making defenders take more difficult shots.
thanks, missed that one. top 11... Code: Player Height PPG RPG BPG --------------------------------------------------- Yao Ming 7'6" 25.0 10.8 2.0 Ralph Sampson 7'4" 22.1 11.1 2.4 Arvydas Sabonis 7'3" 16.0 10.0 1.1 Rick Smits 7'4" 18.5 7.7 2.1 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 7'3" 17.2 9.4 2.5 Shawn Bradley 7'5" 14.6 8.8 3.6 Gheorghe Muresan 7'7" 14.5 9.6 2.3 Mark Eaton 7'3" 9.7 11.3 5.6 Manute Bol 7'6" 3.7 6.0 5.0 Chuck Nevitt 7'5" 3.8 2.8 2.0 Priest Lauderdale 7'4" 3.7 2.6 0.4
Not that it matters, but I've always seen Manute listed at 7'7". The other thing to note is that Yao was really the only one of the freakishly tall to have an offense build completely around him. You could say Sampson did, too, but not to the extent Yao did.
Difference may be the work Yao does on offense end (which could account for his few boards too.) He is likely tired on the defensive end because of that size of his. If this is the case, I am glad he picked Offense because we need his O a lot more than his D on this team, or we'd have a 75 to 70 score night in and night out, would be awful watching those games, and we'd all be excited when we see 80 points in a game.
I watched Sabonis on his prime since he was a teenager. On his prime he was Head and Shoulder over Yao, No disrespect to Yao, he was better than any other center i have seen in my life time except Dream and Kareem.
This is why I never understand why national analysts try to score cheap points by bashing Yao for being "soft" - it's completely illogical. While his size is the source of his virtues, it's equally a hindrance, and his faults/weaknesses are completely justifiable. He shouldn't be expected to grab every rebound, or dunk every trip down the court as the idiocy suggests - it's physically impossible for him. Being 'tall' has as many limiting drawbacks, yet the pundits somehow fail to grasp this in their incessant 'dunk that you're 7'6!!' nonsensical ramblings. this post may come as ironic to those familiar with my posts regarding yao, but contrary to perception, i have always defended him as a great overachiever maximizing his characteristics in the face of some severe limitations. it's his idiotic fans that are the target of my criticism and the unrealistic expectations placed upon him by faulty assumptions of his 'dominance.' he is what he is - a very good player, nothing more, nothing less.
"Why did Charles Barkley get more rebounds than Ron Artest? Ron's taller, probably stronger, maybe quicker." That conjecture, while probably not very accurate, should give an idea as to the reason.
