Yao and Earl

Earl was arguably the best player in the league for a brief span. I think Yao was on the precipice in 2006 but unfortunately injuries got to him.

Also - football careers, especially for feature backs - are traditionally very short.

 

Yep, and they've been in your mouth ever since....

 

You obviously don't know anything about Earl, his career, or his tenure with the Oilers.

 

Seriously?
You realize over a 10 year career that Walton averaged 46 games per year, 13 points and ten rebounds....

Hell, he's more comparable to Dale Davis or Buck Williams than Yao.

Walton got in because of his one MVP season, in which he still missed 17 regular season games. He posted numbers similar to Kevin Willis that year.

Walton got in or his complete contribution to the game, including mainly college credentials.
In no way, shape or form does Walton compare to Yao when strictly looking at NBA play. It's not even a discussion worth having. May as well compare Buck Williams to Tim Duncan.

 

John Amaechi is in the Hall of fame....

Everyone gets in the hall of fame. It's like Sam's club.

 

From the career numbers alone, Walton rebounded more, blocked more shots, and doubled Yao in assists (and steals) while playing fewer minutes a game.

They both shot 52% from the field. Yao's career averages would have taken an even bigger hit had he played as a 30-something cripple like Walton did.

Yao was a much better FT shooter, and a helluva scorer there for a while. Walton never asked 20 ppg, but clearly was better in a lot of other ways.

 

yep; there's more to pivot than gettin' buckets.

now, I admit I haven't paid close attention to the basketball HoF. and, if this is true:[rquoter]reeko: John Amaechi is in the Hall of fame.... Everyone gets in the hall of fame. It's like Sam's club.[/rquoter]
then perhaps Yao *does* get in. Especially if it's more than NBA, and his international/Olympic play enters the conversation.

but here's the real point:

If John Amaechi is in the "hall of fame" and Guy V. Freaking Lewis is not, then this conversation is entirely irrelevant as this "hall of fame" has zero credibility, and no one should bother to piss on it if it were to catch fire.

That is all; thank you.

 

Earl played in a different time, of course, but those who experienced his unique brand of speed and power knew then and now that he was transcendent, a game-changing, once in a generation athlete that played with unbridled ferocity between the whistles and genuine humility after. He was unlike anything before or since.

Yao, at his absolute peak, was never in Earl's stratosphere. Again, some of that is simply era and *no* athlete is likely to resonate like Earl did. But those who witnessed Earl - I'm not sure we could ever put a finger on it for you but it was just one of those things you *knew.* His HoF credentials were never questioned. He was a first-ballot, no-brainer lock and I'd be shocked if you can find even a whimpering minority who disagreed. Maybe the family of Isiah Robertson.

So, yeah - not a very good comparison at all. When it comes to Houston athletes, Earl and Dream, IMO, are heads and tails above everyone else. Bagwell and Biggio are on the next tier, with maybe Nolan Ryan. And then.... it kind of falls off a bit - lots of unrealized or wasted potential. Seriously - Andre Johnson might be creeping up that list, which is as much a knock on our sports history as is it coronation of AJ.

 

all this would be relevant if john amaechi was in the hall of fame, but he's not.

 

Regardless, Guy V. belongs in a basketball hall of fame, or it has no credibility. None. That institution is a joke.

 

this i agree with!

 

Yao will get in because David Stern will want him to get in, I am o.k with it, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is in, immortals like Boris Stankovic and Harry A. Fisher are in. Yao helped expand the brand and will be an excellent ambassador for the game, no reason for him not to be in too.

As a Houston sports icon, Hakeem is the ultimate because he brought home the hardware. Earl, Biggio and Bagwell are the other real Houston capital I Icons with Nolan maybe a half step below (maybe because he had already made his bones elsewhere before he joined us.)

For me Yao is up there with Moon, Murphy, Dierker, Rudy T, J.R, Bethea, Childress, Munchak, Matthews, Niekro, Brazille. Really great players I relished paying to go see and watching on television.