Welcome to another rousing edition of your favorite sports blog, Tha Weatha Report. In today's edition we will be discussing the sad bit of news about Yao Ming hanging up his shoes and retiring from the game. The injuries were just too much for the big man to overcome. We will dive into whether or not Yao is destined for the Hall of Fame or not. But before we do, you know the drill. Hail Storm time!
Quick Hail Storm
1. Extremely sad news concerning the fan who fell to his death at the Texas Rangers' game. I pray for peace and calmness for his family in this time of need.
2. Hines Ward is an unlikely player to be in the NFL police blotter. In my opinion it is just another reason why the players and the owners need to quickly resolve their issues and end this lockout. When good character players are getting in trouble, you know it's time for things to get done.
3. The Ohio State University's self-imposed sanctions should be enough to do the trick. I don't foresee the NCAA coming down with harsher penalties. Sad that they felt the need to throw Jim Tressel under the bus though.
4. Alex Rodriguez has a tear in his meniscus. He doesn't seem to be aging as well as people assumed he would. I know that the first thought that goes through people's minds is that his steroid use is causing his body a quick decline. Could be.
The Ming Dynasty
Upon hearing the news that Yao Ming is retiring, I became reflective. I remember when Yao was the first pick in the 2002 NBA draft. I remember that first match-up he had with Shaquille O'Neal and all the hype that surrounded it. Now, evidently his run is over. This means that out of the top five players selected in that draft, only Mike Dunleavy and Drew Gooden are still playing. Yao is retired, the number two pick was Jay Williams who suffered that horrific career ending motorcycle accident, and the number five pick was Nikoloz Tskitishvilli who just wasn't good enough to cut it in the NBA. Turned out to be an unfortunately bad draft.
But that's not to say that Yao Ming wasn't dominate when he played. On the contrary, he was one of the best centers in the league when he was healthy. In Yao's first three years in the league he averaged 16.4 ppg and 8.5 rpg. Numbers that any team would love to have from their starting center. In Yao's fourth year he broke through and averaged a double-double with 22.3 ppg and 10.2 rpg. Ah, but here is where the catch starts. That year, Yao only played in 57 games. From that point on the big man from China could not stay healthy. Yao's games played in totals for the rest of his career where 48, 55, 77, 0, and finally 5 for the 2010-2011 season. That's almost three seasons worth of games lost in five years. When Yao played, he was a beast and was one of the most effective players in the league with a player efficiency rating of around 23.0 per season. It is too bad that injuries robbed us of watching him for more time.
After the news broke of the retirement, I received a couple of emails and facebook posts asking what I thought of Yao's Hall of Fame chances. I instantly thought of Bill Walton. Big Red out of UCLA who went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics, but who had the majority of his career robbed from him by injuries just like Yao. In a ten year career Bill Walton could've played in 820 regular season games, he ended up playing in 468. A little more than half. In Yao's nine year career he could've played in a total of 738 games. He played in 486. Remember that Yao lost the entire 2009-2010 season due to injury. Essentially Yao played in almost 66% of the possible games. More than Walton. So besides that, how do their careers stack up? Well, let's check it out.
Walton was a two time NBA champion. A NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP in 1977. A two time NBA All-Star. Two time NCAA champion and a three time Naismith College Player of the Year. A decorated and dominate big man when he was healthy. Yao did not attend college so Walton's college accomplishments obviously dwarf that time period of Yao's life. However, Yao Ming was an eight time NBA All-Star and three time FIBA Asian Championship MVP. The all star berths can be a little misleading as Yao's massive following from his homeland China fans always gave him an advantage in that voting. Overall though, Yao was a good player who deserved at least most of those all star berths.
Walton averaged a double-double for his career with 13.3 ppg and 10.5 rpg. Yao comes in with career averages of 19.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg. What we get out of these numbers is that Yao Ming and Bill Walton were two highly effective centers who scored and rebounded like big men are supposed to.
The Naismith Hall of Fame is the highest honor for a basketball player. It recognizes individuals who have achieved a certain amount of success and/or individuals who have made significant contributions to the game of basketball. Using this criteria is Yao Ming a Hall of Famer? I would say yes. The man bridged the cultural gap between the United States and China as well as helped the NBA become widely popular in his home country. His numbers compare favorably to that of one Bill Walton, who is himself in the Hall of Fame. While the Hall of Fame is not completely transparent on how they select individuals, it is clear to me that Yao Ming has the numbers and has made significant contributions to the game. If the Naismith Hall of Fame follows it's own stated guidelines, then expect to see Yao Ming enshrined at some point in the future.
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