The Power Of Yao

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus

With the likes of guard Allen Iverson and center Shaquille O’Neal in the mix, the 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame class was arguably the best to ever be enshrined into Springfield, Massachusetts, but there was one controversial inductee among the group. For nine years center Yao Ming pounded in the low post for the Houston Rockets. For Ming’s NBA career, he averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds. Ming scored 9,247 career points in the NBA which is something that his critics pointed out. And although that everyone has the right to his or her respective opinion, Ming is more than worthy of his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ming was the first overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Rockets. As a rookie, Ming would average 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds. But Ming began to stand out as a rookie when he faced O’Neal for the first time and his 7’6″ frame dwarfed that of O’Neal who is 7’1″. Ming would go on to be an eight-time NBA All-Star, and although that injuries cut his career short as he was forced to retire at the age of 30, he has been a global ambassador for the game of basketball.

Ming is a native of Shanghai, China. The city itself is home to 24 million people, but the People’s Republic of China is home to nearly 1.4 billion citizens, and they all united to support Ming. More than 7,500 miles separates Houston from Shanghai, and in spite of the 12-hour time difference, the folks in China made it their business to consistently watch Ming play. Ming played in the NBA with the weight of a nation on his shoulders, and he never wilted under it. Ming held his own in the NBA against the likes of O’Neal, former San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan, and current Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Garnett, while he also overcame culture and language barriers to succeed. At 7’6″ Ming showed solid mobility for a player of his stature, and if he posted up a defender with his huge frame, the advantage was typically his.

Ming became a Chinese superstar while his presence became a platform for the NBA to extend their global brand which is a part of their mission. Ming has always had a high level of humility which was on display last Friday during his Hall of Fame speech. And Ming’s humility was the perfect compliment to O’Neal and Iverson who’s bravado and charisma were on center stage.

At the end of the day when people are elected to a respective sports hall of fame, it isn’t always about their stats as a player, as their overall impact can be included as well which is a category that Ming falls into. And overall the NBA’s brand is in a much better place after Ming had his run in Houston.

Source: Basketball-reference.com

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus
By | 2016-09-12T22:42:34+00:00 September 13th, 2016|Categories: National Basketball Association|Tags: , , |2 Comments

About the Author:

2 Comments

  1. Jimmy Thomas Sep 13, 2016 at 9:53 pm - Reply

    Great Article. Well put, a worthy inductee based on more than just numbers.

    • William Martin Sep 13, 2016 at 10:32 pm - Reply

      Me personally I never had a problem with Yao Ming, but unfortunately too many people rely solely on stats which is highlighted by the infamous “how many rings does he have”? If a guy can play, he can play, and how he ranks against the top players of his era are what I look at.

Leave A Comment