Yao Ming To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame
The Houston Rockets will be adding another Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame member, as former center Yao Ming is set to be inducted this year.
The Houston Rockets have had a number of outstanding players wear their uniform. They have had 10 Naismith Hall Of Famers play for them, with big men being the most prominent (Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes, Charles Barkley and Ralph Sampson).
They will be adding one more prominent big man to that list that dwarfs them all, literally, as Yao Ming is set to be inducted into the Naismith Hall Of Fame this year.
Yao’s selection was reported by ESPN’s Calvin Watkins.
Yao began his basketball career in the Chinese Basketball Association before coming over to the NBA, where the Rockets made him the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. He would go on to a very productive career on the court, but is also looked at as a pioneer and huge contributor off of it as well.
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Yao was as imposing a player that has ever taken the court. At 7-foot-6, he was a mountain of a man. At that size it would be fair to assume he didn’t do much work outside the paint, but Yao was extremely versatile on the court. He could play in the post, or on the outside as he had a smooth jump shot despite his size; he was a career 83.3 percent shooter from the foul line.
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Yao put up impressive stats in his career, as he averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Had injuries to his feet and ankles not derailed his career, Yao could have been seen at as one of the greatest centers to ever play in the NBA. He missed the entire 2009-10 season, and appered in only five games during the 2010-11 season before announcing his retirement.
Despite having to retire in his prime at 30 years old, Yao had an impact on the game that will last well beyond his years as a player. A goal of the NBA for a long time has been to become a global phenomenon, and Yao helped that. He brought the NBA to China, as he was must-watch television for a whole nation.
That was evident when he played against Yi Jianlian, the next import from China for basketball and a member of the Milwaukee Bucks at the time, in 2007. According to ESPN, that game was broadcast on 19 networks in China and watched by more than 200 million people.
That made it one of the most-watched NBA games in history despite being a regular-season game between two teams that would normally not garner much attention.
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The announcement for Yao’s induction in the Hall of Fame was supposed to come during the NCAA Final Four this weekend, as it is being held in Houston. Unfortunately Yao will not be present when the announcement is made, according to Watkins.