Did Yao vs Dwight ever get a solid answer?

[Kblaze8855]

Argument just faded away as they both got destroyed by injury but it was pretty polarizing at one point.

[Phoenix]

Yao had a 7-2 record against Dwight( of course their respective teams play into that as well), but also had a decided stat edge pretty much across the board.

[Xiao Yao You]

Dwight. It's not close and I'm a big fan of Yao and Dwight is a huge douchebag

[SaltyMeatballs]

Yao was a lot more skilled offensively in his prime but Dwight was a better player overall

[Phoenix]

Dwight. It's not close and I'm a big fan of Yao and Dwight is a huge douchebag

head to head record

Yao 7-2

Yao 23.6ppg/10.4rpg/1.2apg/.7spg/2.1bpg
Dwight 12.2ppg/9.8rpg/.8apg/1.3spg/1.7bpg

Yep, Dwight and it's not close by all measure.

[Wardell Curry]

head to head record

Yao 7-2

By this rationale, Hakeem was better than Jordan.

Hakeem's Rockets likely would have beaten the Bulls in the Finals had they played and this idea that Jordan is indisputably the best player of all time would lessen.

[Reggie43]

Would rather have Dwight. Yao made it out of the first round once then got injured mid series in their next matchup in which his teammates actually played better without him

[Phoenix]

By this rationale, Hakeem was better than Jordan.

Hakeem's Rockets likely would have beaten the Bulls in the Finals had they played and this idea that Jordan is indisputably the best player of all time would lessen.

It's like you completely missed where I said

"of course their respective teams play into that as well"

Yao and Dwight Howard matched up directly and Yao has a pretty decisive statistical edge, especially in scoring. Hakeem and Jordan weren't positionally matched against each other, so that analogy falls flat immediately by comparison.

[Wardell Curry]

It's like you completely missed where I said

"of course their respective teams play into that as well"

Yao and Dwight Howard matched up directly and Yao has a pretty decisive statistical edge, especially in scoring. Hakeem and Jordan weren't positionally matched against each other, so that analogy falls flat immediately by comparison.

Match-up problems are a real thing and speak nothing as it pertains to performance against the rest of the field of competition.

[Phoenix]

Match-up problems are a real thing and speak nothing as it pertains to performance against the rest of the field of competition.

What question is being asked here then? Because the question of who's better historically, who's better against the competition, and who's better in terms of head to head isn't necessarily the same answer. Yao pretty clearly outplayed Dwight over their careers, I don't think there's much to dispute there. If you want to mentally gymnastic yourself into still making the case for Dwight, especially from a head to head sense, go for it. Dwight's the historically greater player, obviously, but I don't know if that's the question being asked.

[Wardell Curry]

What question is being asked here then? Because the question of who's better historically, who's better against the competition, and who's better in terms of head to head isn't necessarily the same answer. Yao pretty clearly outplayed Dwight over their careers, I don't think there's much to dispute there. If you want to mentally gymnastic yourself into still making the case for Dwight, especially from a head to head sense, go for it. Dwight's the historically greater player, obviously, but I don't know if that's the question being asked.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY

[Dbrog]

I remember back in the day on here there would be huge threads on this. Was always crazy to me that the Dwight people would be like...Howard's putting up like 3 20/20 games in a row! Then it never failed he would face Yao or even oldman Shaq and all of a sudden he's a 10/8 guy

[Phoenix]

So anyways... what's your take OP?

[warriorfan]

Dwight of course. In his peak he was one of the best players in the league.

[SouBeachTalents]

head to head record

Yao 7-2

Yao 23.6ppg/10.4rpg/1.2apg/.7spg/2.1bpg
Dwight 12.2ppg/9.8rpg/.8apg/1.3spg/1.7bpg

Yep, Dwight and it's not close by all measure.
I was gonna point out that this mostly took place before Dwight's peak years, but even in '09 Yao completely outplayed him twice :lol

[Phoenix]

I was gonna point out that this mostly took place before Dwight's peak years, but even in '09 Yao completely outplayed him twice :lol

Yep.

I mean, I'm not even trying to say Yao was better. I just dropped the information most would tend to look at and use as prime arguing material ( head to head W/L and statistical output) and if we removed the names for a minute, it quite clearly doesn't favor the player basically everyone is rooting for, even going as far as 'and it's not close'. But to my earlier point, I'm not sure what answer the OP is looking for. I just remember back in 2009 it being a very common talking point about Yao outplaying Dwight, when back then we didn't have the benefit of hindsight and was just looking at what our eyes told us in that moment.

[Wally450]

I remember saying Yao at the time. I'll still say that.

[FKAri]

If you could guarantee health and we're playing in a pre 2015 era, Yao. Otherwise Dwight. Dwight's also a more flexible player that can be slotted into any team. I forget which season it was but Yao went down half way through. But in that first half he played on a level Dwight never has. Unfortunately, we only saw glimpses of what Yao could be.

[Xiao Yao You]

If you could guarantee health and we're playing in a pre 2015 era, Yao. Otherwise Dwight. Dwight's also a more flexible player that can be slotted into any team. I forget which season it was but Yao went down half way through. But in that first half he played on a level Dwight never has. Unfortunately, we only saw glimpses of what Yao could be.

He was never close to Howard. Yao was a better shooter and was one of the few guys big enough that Shaq couldn't just go through him but otherwise he has nothing on Howard. It's not close

[FKAri]

He was never close to Howard. Yao was a better shooter and was one of the few guys big enough that Shaq couldn't just go through him but otherwise he has nothing on Howard. It's not close

This is general sentiment for people who didn't closely watch him play. His level of play was very sporadic due to injuries. Which is why when you take injuries out of it, it's Yao. Again unless we're playing in modern rules.

[Xiao Yao You]

This is general sentiment for people who didn't closely watch him play. His level of play was very sporadic due to injuries. Which is why when you take injuries out of it, it's Yao. Again unless we're playing in modern rules.

I watched most of his games since most of them were on in China before Morey. Great shooter with great size. With or without injuries he was a liability on D unless he could put his body on you like he could with Shaq. Not a great rebounder despite being the biggest guy on the floor.

[JohnMax]

So Yao Ming is better than Dwight Howard?

It's clear you guys hate black people and will always pick non-blacks over them.

It's also clear that hatred of black people extends to black vs black comparisons. You will always pick inferior blacks over superior blacks.

Hence why that inferior black Dwight Howard is only propped up when he is compared to superior blacks like Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis.

[iamgine]

At their peak they're pretty comparable player. Yao wins their head to head by a landslide but Yao's injured too much to be called better than Dwight.

[90sgoat]

Dunno, but Howard played in the East when there literally wasn't a single capable center in the entire conference.

[Baller789]

It's Yao.

Howard always struggled against elite big centers like Yao and Shaq. He was just too short and clunky offensively.

[ArbitraryWater]

I think Yao always had a more adaptable, go-to playoff game.

[Xiao Yao You]

Jorge Sierra: RANDOM STAT Least NBA games played per All-Star selection Joel Embiid: 65.57 Yao Ming: 60.75 ZION WILLIAMSON: 57 Jack Molinas: 32 (https://*********.com/social/) (Molinas was banned from the NBA for wagering on Pistons games).
– via Twitter ********* (https://twitter.com/*********)

[90sgoat]

Yao was unlucky in that he played in the Western conference in a time that still had some all time great centers like Shaq, Sabonis, Robinson, Duncan.

It really shouldn't be held against him that he couldn't hang with physical centers like that.

He'd be a monster today, that's for sure.

[Xiao Yao You]

Yao was unlucky in that he played in the Western conference in a time that still had some all time great centers like Shaq, Sabonis, Robinson, Duncan.

It really shouldn't be held against him that he couldn't hang with physical centers like that.

He'd be a monster today, that's for sure.

be a back up today. Couldn't guard in space

[kawhileonard2]

head to head record

Yao 7-2

Yao 23.6ppg/10.4rpg/1.2apg/.7spg/2.1bpg
Dwight 12.2ppg/9.8rpg/.8apg/1.3spg/1.7bpg

Yep, Dwight and it's not close by all measure.

Wow destroyed him while Dwight destroyed Lebron in the playoffs without HCA.

[Xiao Yao You]

Two basketball teams in the Chinese Basketball Association, the Shanghai Sharks and the Jiangsu Dragons, were thrown out of the ongoing playoffs for match-fixing. The Sharks have several players with NBA experience including Michael Beasley, Eric Bledsoe, Johnny O’Bryant, and Jamaal Franklin. (https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/04/shanghai-sharks-eric-bledsoe-michael-beasley-cba-scandal) Antonio Blakeney is the only player with NBA experience on the Dragons, although a few other players on the roster have played NBA Summer League. Findings from an investigation from the CBA Disciplinary and Ethics Commission concluded that Shangai showed “negative contention” during the second game of a three-game series, which Jiangsu won.
– via Bryan Kalbrosky @ For The Win (https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/04/shanghai-sharks-eric-bledsoe-michael-beasley-cba-scandal)





According to Mark Dreyer, each club was fined approximately the equivalent of $727,000. Shanghai coach Li Chunjiang and Jiangsu GM Shi Linjie were each given a 5-year ban from the league. Jiangsu coach Li Nan and Shanghai GM Jiang Yusheng, meanwhile, were both handed 3-year bans. Shanghai was scheduled to play the Shenzhen Aviators (who have former NBA and G League players Jared Sullinger, Justin Wright-Foreman, and Askia Booker on their roster). Shenzhen will now advance to the semifinals now that Shanghai was ruled ineligible. Yao Ming, who played for the Sharks before coming to the United States, is now the president of the Chinese Basketball Association. He called it a “quite saddening” week (https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/04/shanghai-sharks-eric-bledsoe-michael-beasley-cba-scandal).
– via Bryan Kalbrosky @ For The Win (https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/04/shanghai-sharks-eric-bledsoe-michael-beasley-cba-scandal)