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ESPN asking is Yao a Hall of Famer is an insult to every great NBA player who is currently a HOF. What the hell did he do to be eligible for the HOF? He only played 2 full seasons and after that did nothing but take up space on the floor.
The league recognizes individuals for their overall impact on the game. In the '90s, it was MJ who was driving Stern's global bus - this century, it was Yao.
yao will absolutely go in the hall. his numbers are not worthy but everything else he brought to the game will get him in for sure. the real question, in this stat happy world will yao make the 1st ballot? i am not so sure he will.
A shoe in for 1st ballot. It will be a memorable and emotional moment 5yrs from now when he makes that speech. It could be the first time that over a billion people watch the HOF ceremony.
Not that i disagree with Marques Haynes being in the HOF, but if Yao doesn't get in, maybe we need to remove this guy. He formed the Harlem Globetrotters though they were impressive in going undefeated...
HOF= someone contributed significantly to the game of basketball in variety of ways and to make basketball a better sport .
It was his time to go especially with the lingering injuries. He was a great ambassador for the sport and will be hard to replace especially with his positive attitude.
Last I hear he's going overseas to play.... talk about wasted potential.
yeah TMac was one of the biggest disappointments of the last decade for me...for a while there especially in the early days with Orlando I thought he was the best 2 guard in the NBA...better than Vince, Paul Pierce, and he could and did go toe to toe with Kobe...plus he had a great young coach in Doc Rivers (people seem to forget that now) only thing that let him down was Grant Hill getting injured year after year...
Then he got traded to Houston, finally had a decent player on his team (Yao) but then he just fell apart...I think the low part was when he talked about retiring at the age of 28 because he felt tired...Barkely and Magic tore him a new one for that...but he just couldnt seem to get it together in Houston and it's been downhill ever since. I would love to know the story behind his issues...
The most important thing is that he has opened up the door for more asian players to play in the NBA.
I thought Yao was ok...the one thing I could say that as a number one pick he was not a bust...that is always the big danger with no 1 draft picks in any sport...if you suck then you get put on blast forever (ask Olowokandi if you dont believe me) He put up good numbers...although some of those silly all star votes where everyone in China boosted him in year after year tarnish his image a little bit for me...it wasnt his fault but it is what it is
But you are right in that he did open the door for Chinese players...and equally important, gave the NBA a foothold in Asia that no other league has...just look at the love the Redeem Team got during the Olympics...to me that might be the one thing that really saves the NBA going forward...for better or worse, the NBA will always be third best here in the US behind football and baseball...but if the NBA has the international market on lock then it wont matter what people here in the US like or dont like. No other league can say that. Although with how dumb the NBA can be sometimes, it wouldnt surprise me if they found a way to f that up, like with the lockout coming soon....
yeah TMac was one of the biggest disappointments of the last decade for me...for a while there especially in the early days with Orlando I thought he was the best 2 guard in the NBA...better than Vince, Paul Pierce, and he could and did go toe to toe with Kobe...plus he had a great young coach in Doc Rivers (people seem to forget that now) only thing that let him down was Grant Hill getting injured year after year...
Then he got traded to Houston, finally had a decent player on his team (Yao) but then he just fell apart...I think the low part was when he talked about retiring at the age of 28 because he felt tired...Barkely and Magic tore him a new one for that...but he just couldnt seem to get it together in Houston and it's been downhill ever since. I would love to know the story behind his issues...
And I'm sure having no help and a CLOWN for a center played no part in Tracy not leading the Rockets far in the playoffs
And I'm sure having no help and a CLOWN for a center played no part in Tracy not leading the Rockets far in the playoffs
You talking about Yao??? I wouldnt call him a clown...he was a decent center, definitely a top 5 center for the year (NOT ALL TIME) in his prime...and the one year TMac got injured Houston went to the second round, so I dont know that you can blame Yao for that.
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