How good was Yao Ming at his best?

[Im Still Ballin]

Title.

He had a 160 game stretch from 2005 to 2008 where he put up 23.0/10.2/1.9/0.5/1.9 on 59.14% TS.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_RqWoZbHBk

[GrayGoat]

Extremely good. Imo we won’t see another player Move or last like Yao at 7’6

[Loco 50]

Absolutely unguardable during the brief stints he was healthy. His j was great, postwork was great, had a money fade that was inalterable.

Just had too big a frame to handle the rigors of an NBA season.

[GrayGoat]

Absolutely unguardable during the brief stints he was healthy. His j was great, postwork was great, had a money fade that was inalterable.

Just had too big a frame to handle the rigors of an NBA season.

Agree. To be fair his longevity at that size is pretty good

[John8204]

Championship potential but didn't stick around long enough to really earn a legacy. Maybe all-time 40-60 for his position

[FultzNationRISE]

I mean he was a good starting-caliber player. An above average center. But even when healthy his play never consistently had me thinking "all-time great." He wasn't a guy I would give a max contract today if I was only considering on-court factors. But he's a guy I'd be happy to have on a reasonable deal.

[Reggie43]

Not as good as his numbers suggest. Probably Pau Gasol tier imo.

[1987_Lakers]

He was a legit all-star, just often injured. I remember him giving Dwight Howard a bunch of problems every time they matched up.

[1987_Lakers]

Not as good as his numbers suggest. Probably Pau Gasol tier imo.

Seems about right, i'd probably give Yao a very slight edge when both were at their best.

[Round Mound]

Extremely good. Imo we won’t see another player Move or last like Yao at 7’6

This and maybe he was even taller than 7´6 ft

[Baller789]

If Yao wasn't injury prone, I'd take him over the offensively challenged prime DH12.

[John8204]

23.0/10.2/1.9/0.5/1.9 on 59.14% TS.
on the flip side
27.0/7.0/3.7/0.9/0.6 on 61.9% TS

Those are Zion's numbers.

[GrayGoat]

23.0/10.2/1.9/0.5/1.9 on 59.14% TS.
on the flip side
27.0/7.0/3.7/0.9/0.6 on 61.9% TS

Those are Zion's numbers.
Zion peaked in college

[Baller789]

23.0/10.2/1.9/0.5/1.9 on 59.14% TS.
on the flip side
27.0/7.0/3.7/0.9/0.6 on 61.9% TS

Those are Zion's numbers.

Impressive. But these numbers were produced in modern inflation era. And even if he had better numbers, it looks like he's a flop because of his fat @rse.

[Loco 50]

Yao was much more physically dominant than Pau and had every bit of his offensive i.q./skill set so that comparison is off.

His only peers in the post during his era were Shaq and Duncan and he could make both of them look bad when he was really on.

Fortunately for Spur/Laker fans he was on the shelf more often than not.

[Loco 50]

Agree. To be fair his longevity at that size is pretty good

Agreed, 7'1" 7'2" seems to be a significant barrier when it comes to longevity/durability. Only player with any modicum of success I can think of in that era was Rik Smits at 7'4", but he ended up wrapping up his career due to bum wheels prematurely too.

[PeroAntic]

I always thought Yao and TMac could have been as good as Shaq and Kobe but for some reason it failed to materialize.

[FultzNationRISE]

If Yao wasn't injury prone, I'd take him over the offensively challenged prime DH12.

I think it's much easier to replace Yao's good (but not amazing) offensive production via the rest of the supporting cast than it is to compensate Howard's elite interior defense/rebounding.

In fact IIRC, those Rockets famously had consistent results regardless of who was in the lineup. Didn't they even have a record-breaking win streak at one point, with TMac out the whole time and Yao missing a solid chunk as well?

Any high-usage guys are gonna get numbers, a la Kevin Love in Minnesota. How irreplaceable does that actually make them? I think that varies a lot more than people believe.

[NBAGOAT]

people overlook how much of a factor playing for the olympics teams lead to those injuries. nba players just need time off. he was obligated he was the chinese national team and they groomed him to play basketball from a ridiculously young age.

[Baller789]

I think it's much easier to replace Yao's good (but not amazing) offensive production via the rest of the supporting cast than it is to compensate Howard's elite interior defense/rebounding.

In fact IIRC, those Rockets famously had consistent results regardless of who was in the lineup. Didn't they even have a record-breaking win streak at one point, with TMac out the whole time and Yao missing a solid chunk as well?

Any high-usage guys are gonna get numbers, a la Kevin Love in Minnesota. How irreplaceable does that actually make them? I think that varies a lot more than people believe.

I disagree.
Dwight was much more of a liability on offense than Yao is at defense. Not even close.

[FultzNationRISE]

I disagree.
Dwight was much more of a liability on offense than Yao is at defense. Not even close.

Nah

[Baller789]

Nah

Hack a Dwight anyone?

[ShawkFactory]

I think it's much easier to replace Yao's good (but not amazing) offensive production via the rest of the supporting cast than it is to compensate Howard's elite interior defense/rebounding.

In fact IIRC, those Rockets famously had consistent results regardless of who was in the lineup. Didn't they even have a record-breaking win streak at one point, with TMac out the whole time and Yao missing a solid chunk as well?

Any high-usage guys are gonna get numbers, a la Kevin Love in Minnesota. How irreplaceable does that actually make them? I think that varies a lot more than people believe.

Nah, Yao missed almost half of it but Tmac was there the whole time.

[Loco 50]

people overlook how much of a factor playing for the olympics teams lead to those injuries. nba players just need time off. he was obligated he was the chinese national team and they groomed him to play basketball from a ridiculously young age.

Yes, Olympic play screwed up many of the international guys. Fans used to like to talk shit about the Spurs being unable to repeat title runs, but every time they won a chip it would be during an off year in which they were well rested. Then Parker and Manu would play an entire year straight and inevitably break down prior to the playoffs.

Manu and Yao's careers were shortened dramatically due to their commitment to Olympic play.

[Baller789]

Yes, Olympic play screwed up many of the international guys. Fans used to like to talk shit about the Spurs being unable to repeat title runs, but every time they won a chip it would be during an off year in which they were well rested. Then Parker and Manu would play an entire year straight and inevitably break down prior to the playoffs.

Manu and Yao's careers were shortened dramatically due to their commitment to Olympic play.

The NBA season is just too darn long.