7’6″ Yao retires – His impact to NBA history: Gigantic

Houston Rockets’ Center Yao Ming has announced his retirement.

At just 30 years old, Yao leaves the NBA with a great legacy but more so for his impact on the game around the world than his ability and achievements on the court. His career with the Rockets leaves many questions unanswered. Due to injuries 7 foot 6 inch Chinese Center Yao, was unable to fulfil the potential that saw him become the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft.

Amazingly, Yao only missed two games in his first three seasons but numerous injuries have forced him to miss 250 games in the past six seasons, mainly due to his reconstructed left foot. During his nine NBA seasons, Yao gave us glimpses of what surely would have been a hall of fame playing career averageing 19.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots but whilst unlikely due to his injuries, he certainly deserves a place in the hall of fame for his contribution to expanding the game globally.

When the news of Yao’s retirement was confirmed last night, I had three thoughts. My initial thought was that I was not surprised by the announcement. Yao as stated had played only five times in the past two seasons and was at the end of his five year $76m contract entering the lockout. Yao is a very proud man and has talked about walking away from the game, before he is forced into being pushed away from the game in a wheelchair.

My second thought was how different the NBA may had been if Yao had been healthy for the past six seasons. The curse of the Centre position in the past decade is one of the great talking points about the NBA. With injuries to Yao and Portland Trail Blazers’ Centre Greg Oden, himself a former number one overall pick in 2007, along with injuries to Jermaine O’Neal, Marcus Camby, Andrew Bynum and Shaq late in his career, the NBA has been robbed of many years of great battles at the Center.

Although, these players may not have been as good as the era of Mutumbo, Mourning, Rodman, Ewing, Robinson, Shaq, Malone and Olajuwon, the impact of a decade of great Centers would have brought  more exciting basketball. Legendary former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Yao early in his career, that no Center since Hakeem Olajuwon had troubled Shaq more offensively than China’s mega star. A great compliment from a great coach.

After he was drafted, despite his size I had my doubts about how good Yao was entering the league on both ends of the floor. Reliant on watching highlights mostly on the internet, I thought Yao was soft and the level of position did not warranr him being the first overall pick. It didn’t take long for him to erase my doubts. Yao had all the skills to be an elite player at his position. With surprisingly quick feet andgreat strength, even though he had a fairly slight frame and a wonderful deft touch for such a big player. Not to mention his excellent passing ability, Yao was NBA ready in his rookie season and he only got better. However, the thing that impressed me most about Yao was the way he played the game, he was extremely competitive, had a great work ethic and he played with a smile on his face.

My final thought was about what Yao brought to the NBA in terms of his popularity and global impact on the game, but especially in Asia. The day Yao was drafted he became the biggest name sports star in Asia and immediately the endorsements flooded in with Nike, McDonalds, Apple and Visa quick to give him a contracts and many more followed. All of a sudden, Basketball was important to the nation of around 1.3 billion people. In 2005, Yao set a record for all-star votes when he received 2,558,278 votes in winning the starting spot at Center for the NBA’s Western Conference All-Star team, thanks to tremendous support from his fans in China.

NBA players now head to China in their off season to promote their merchandise. Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant is currently in China promoting his new KD III trainers. Also, former NBA players like Stephon Marbury and Bonzi Wells have headed to China to play for excellent salaries, and this is all because of Yao Ming. While he was playing in the NBA, people in China were not only watching him but the other NBA players too. The NBA will forever be in debt to Yao Ming as he alone, is the reason why the people in China are fans of the less fashionable teams like the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Many charities benefited from Yao’s success too. In 2008, he donated $2m to relief work, and created a foundation to help rebuild schools destroyed in the earthquake in Sichuan. Earlier in his career, Yao helped raise money to stop the spread of SARS and for underprivileged children in China.

Surely, the proudest moment of Yao’s career came at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Yao carried the Olympic flame into Tiananment Square as part of the Olympic torch relay, then carried the Chinese flag and led their delegation during the opening ceremony. During the games, Yao was part of the Chinese team that reached the quarter finals but were knocked out by Lithuania.

Without doubt, every sport needs a Yao Ming. By this I mean, an athlete who can change the history of the sport, not only in the country or continent of his or her birth but around the world. Basketball is a bigger and better sport because of Yao Ming. Yao, may not have had the impact on the NBA that Michael Jordan, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson had on the game of basketball but his impact should forever be remembered and recognised by the NBA.

Article courtesy of Michael Roberts.