Ming Dynasty

One story that has occupied sports headlines last week was Yao Ming’s announcement to have major surgery on his fractured foot. Unfortunately for Yao, this means that the chance of his return for this upcoming season has plummeted. Even with the surgery, there is still a possibility that Yao’s injury could be career-ending. With Yao being one of the top, if not the best center in the NBA, I hope this injury does not bring his career to an end. The Houston Rockets took a chance when they drafted the freakishly tall international star in the 2002 draft. Coming from China, Ming was basically Michael Jordan of his country, but with international praise as well. Even with all the hype, how many guys over seven feet have actually panned out in the NBA?

Yao Ming stands at a towering 7'6", and was labeled as a soft, do-it-all center (which sounds really promising coming out of China). So, with all the expectations for Yao to be the ‘next big thing’ and a pioneer for future Asian NBA all-stars, Yao delivered and has become a dominant center.

However, Ming has unfortunately been plagued with foot injuries in the past five years, much like his injury-prone teammate, Tracy McGrady. Many all-star seasons and playoff runs have come up short because of Ming’s inability to stay healthy. At the age of 28, if the 2008-09 season was the last of Yao, I will remember him for his career averages of 19 pts, nine rebounds and almost two blocks a game.

Oh yea, Jianlian Yi should be thanking Yao—Without Yao becoming the first player from China to be become a superstar in the NBA, I don’t see Yi getting drafted as high as he did in 2007.