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NBA Injuries: 20 Stars Who Deserve A Career Do-Over

By Gerald Bourguet

AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Detroit Pistons player Grant Hill (L) drives around Indiana Pacers player Chris Mullin during the first half of their game 07 February at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons beat the Pacers 107-98. AFP PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY (Photo credit should read JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Detroit Pistons player Grant Hill (L) drives around Indiana Pacers player Chris Mullin during the first half of their game 07 February at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons beat the Pacers 107-98. AFP PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY (Photo credit should read JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images) /
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NBA Injuries
LOS ANGELES – OCTOBER 26: Yao Ming #11 of the Houston Rockets looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on October 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /

7. Yao Ming

Would Yao Ming have lived up to the massive hype surrounding him as the first Chinese superstar in NBA history? Maybe not. But there’s no question the talent was there, since “Shaquille O’Neal vs. Yao Ming” was a legitimate question for awhile there.

As the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets got their hands on a gargantuan 7’6″ center who would provide their fan base (and fans all over the world) with plenty of memories through the duration of his eight NBA seasons. Unfortunately, there were also quite a few unpleasant, injury-related memories that went with them.

Were his eight All-Star appearances influenced by the multitude of Asian fans who voted him into the starting lineup as a rookie (despite his good but not great averages of 13.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 1.8 BPG)? Undoubtedly. But it didn’t take long until he became a global ambassador for the game, with solid play that eventually backed his standing up.

Ming played 80 games or more in each of his first three seasons, but he developed osteomyelitis in his big toe that limited him to 57 games in his fourth year. He came back healthy and averaged 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game that year, but broke his foot with four games left in the season.

The following year he was an absolute monster and was conjuring up some early MVP chatter until he broke his right knee and played only 48 games that season. Though he averaged a career-best 25.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game that year, his durability had become a major cause for concern.

He and Tracy McGrady could just never stay healthy at the same time, as proven the next year when Ming played 55 games and suffered a season-ending stress fracture in his foot. Two seasons later, he missed the entire season and was limited to just five games the season after that because of hairline fracture in his foot and a stress fracture in his ankle. Yao hasn’t played since, retiring after that season.

Ming is heading for the Hall of Fame and has solid career averages of 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, but you have to pity the Ming dynasty for not lasting longer considering what he might have been able to accomplish if not for a rash of foot and ankle injuries that befell him.

Next: No. 6