Yao Ming: Success stories cut short - NBA Special Report (Part-4)
The former Houston Rockets’ centre Yao Ming retired from the game on Friday after suffering consistent foot injuries. Yao’s career was the prime example for many international players. He was the first ever Chinese player to enter
in the National Basketball Association. Not only, he represented his country in the biggest basketball league in the world, but his arrival also promoted basketball in Asia and particularly in China.
It was because of his emergence that basketball and NBA touched new height in China. Despite of his early retirement from the game, he still regarded among the very best foreign players who made their way into the NBA.
Yao’ impact was huge on the court.
He always enjoyed his game. He was a giant, a nightmare for any forward, but always had a smile on his face. He was on the most followed star throughout his career and fans took and instant liking to him.
The 7 foot 6 inches played for almost eight seasons with the Rockets and in the early phase of his career, he took them to great heights. However, soon the injuries in his foot and ankle started to take over. He missed significant
amount of playing time during his time with the Rockets and with him becoming a father early this year, eventually led him to take retirement from the game. Yao Ming led the Rockets into the playoffs four times during his career with career averages of 19
points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
The former Shanghai Sharks player made his NBA debut in 2002 when the Rockets drafted him as the 1st overall pick in the NBA draft.
The tall centre from China bewitched NBA for eight years. Although the Rockets didn’t afford him much playing time early in his career, but Yao still finished his rookie season on a high note. He averaged 13.5 points per game in
his very first season, but could not win the Rookie of the Year award.
Yao played consistently throughout his first three years, but eventually he was plagued by the injuries. His left toe was injured in 2005 and he needed a surgery. The surgery was successful and he came back in the second half of
the season with full thrust and in 25 games, he averaged 25.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.7% from the field and 87.8% from the charity stripe.
After completing his first 20-10 season, calamity struck again on December 23, 2006 when his right knee was broken while attempting to block a shot. From there began a series of injuries that forced Ming more on the sidelines
than on the court. Ming missed the whole 2009 season because of an ankle surgery and his return in the 2010-11 season only lasted for 5 games.
Eventually, it proved to be a little too much for the Chinese superstar and he hung his boot at the age of 30. Ming finished his NBA career as an eight time All-Star and took the Rockets to the post season five times. He will surely
be remembered as one of the greatest centres ever in NBA.
Tags: