The "what if" moment that changed every NBA team forever

Houston Rockets: What if Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady hadn't gotten injured?

From the 2004–2005 season to the 2009–10 season, the Houston Rockets had two Hall of Famers in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. However, despite having one of the best wings of the 2000s and a highly skilled big man, they had limited success during that span since both struggled to stay healthy.

The 2007–08 season saw the Rockets go on a historic 22-game win streak, but that was mostly without Yao, who was ruled out for the season early on during that streak. The following year, the Rockets made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals with Yao but without McGrady. In total, the dynamic duo logged just 220 games in six seasons before McGrady was traded and Yao retired in 2010.

Ironically, despite the avalanche of injuries that later ended his career, Yao was surprisingly durable enough to start his career in Houston. In his first three seasons with their team, he missed just two games. Unfortunately, once McGrady arrived, both seemed incapable of staying healthy. That robbed the Rockets of a chance to see what both could really do, and we'll never know whether they could have won a championship together.