Not unless he wins an NBA Championship IMO. There are many HOF's who haven't won a Championship but I feel that's how far he will have to go to get inducted in the HOF.
first ballot in - whether he deserves it or not. If he stays healthy and wins a championship - then he deserves it.
not based on his individual accomplishments. tracy has accomplished more and right now he's not a lock. but he'll make it b/c of his worldwide popularity and what he has done to change the game in terms of making china a player in the NBA. he'll make it even if he retires today.
Really? I doubt that. It's true that yao's brought many attractions from China and changed the league with his incredible size and cowardly personnalities, but that's far from enough to make him a member of HOF. In fact, I've never seen a international roster in the HOF and I'm afraid there'll still been none in the near future. More importantly, no matter how great a roster is, he is not permitted to be taken into the HOF until 5 years after he retires. Whether he will be a HOFer partially depends on what he does during the 5 years, so a roster isn't likely to be a HOFer if he does what David Robinson did right after his retirement. Dream deserves to be a member of HOF but David Robinson is different.(I suggest the spurs fans shut up b/c this is rockets forum) No one is guaranteed to be a member of HOF, even for Shaq who has committed a series of "crimes" on court recently. I bet he'll lose his ticket to HOF if he does what he did on court at will on street. I think Dirk should be ranked before yao in the queue to the HOF, even Z should stands forehead I'm afraid. Never to mention the domestic stars like Duncan and KG.
For now, I'd rather ask if he'll ever get past the 1st round or if he'll make it through this season without a serious injury.
we all want Yao to get past the 1st round with 100% healthy,last several seasons he missed too many games,this season is a good chance
Yao will definitely be HOF. Many players in the league have had stats similar or worse and have made the HOF. And as mentioned before, he has globalised the game of basketball like no one else before. Remember, it is called the Hall of Fame.... not the Hall of Best Basketball players in history. And Yao is the most famous basketball player today.... or at least top 4.
Without a ring?? not a chance. With ring/rings, it's likely that the regular MVP and final MVP would be split by Yao and T-mac. Thus..HOF.