With the news breaking about an hour ago that Yao Ming has decided to hang ’em up and retire, many Rockets fans are either relieved, saddened or both.
Yao, who is very much beloved in Houston, is about the greatest human being you’ll ever meet. A true ambassador of the game that brought an American sport into the limelight to millions in China.
We all knew that Yao was pretty much done after having five consecutive seasons ended with injury. Once a guy of that mass goes through stress fractures in the foot, it’s pretty much over. But true to his word, he put in the effort to make it back to the court and did. Only to have it all fall apart again last season only about six games in.
As much as I hate for this to happen to such a great dude, it’s past time. Things would have gotten real ugly with the Houston fan base had Yao made yet another comeback only to have yet another season-ending injury on top of that.
It’s a shame because Yao was poised to be one of the best at his position had his career endured long enough. His combination of size and finesse made for a unique style of play at Center. At the top of his game he was about as unstoppable as any Center had ever been before him and to have his career end so prematurely just doesn’t make the basketball Gods seem fair.
With Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming in their primes together, many expected great things but they just never materialized. Injuries, team chemistry problems, you name it. There was always something that held the team back. But the bottom line is that they did underachieve, never even winning a playoff series together (Yao won one with McGrady out for the season once). Again, it’s a shame. Because no one deserved it more than Yao.
I think we will definitely see #11 hanging in the rafters at Toyota Center in the near future and his candidacy for the Hall of Fame, even if it is just for what he did for the game Internationally, is still strong. I think he’ll get in.
Thanks for the memories, Yao. The game will never see another like you.