The Evolutionary Yao Ming Effect

YAO’s IMPACT ON THE NBA:
During the past eight seasons, dozens of Chinese media members covering the Houston Rockets have swarmed into the depths of every NBA arena, outnumbering the beat writers, magazine journalists and national pundits. For that, they can thank Yao Ming.

Tracy McGrady and Steve Francis benefited from Yao’s stardom, too. Playing in only six games before the 2009 All-Star break because of injury, McGrady nearly had enough votes to become a starter on the All-Star team, all thanks to the millions of Chinese fans that had latched on to him as Yao’s teammate.

Furthermore, Kevin Durant can thank Yao for the Durantula’s current tour of China. After all, what would the basketball landscape look like in China without him? Sure, Nike’s marketing schemes have promoted players like Durant and Kobe Bryant pretty well, but never before Yao Ming did China have someone to root for with unquestioned national pride.

In a sense, he was an industry-changer, a guy nearly on the level of the USA Dream Team – who brought the game of basketball overseas and into Europe. We saw what happened then: a boom of international players who saw Michael Jordan would grow up with NBA dreams. Some would make an impact in the NBA.

The same could very well happen in China. All because of Yao.

ESPN’s John Hollinger said Yao’s impact could make him a Hall of Famer despite good-but-not-great numbers on the court. Yahoo! Sport’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who broke the news, called Yao one of the “seminal figures in globalization of the NBA and basketball” and tweeted:

“Yao will be remembered for what could’ve been as a player, but his impact in bridging the Far East and NBA will stand forever.

“The NBA and its players owe him a great debt for the money he made all of them in merchandising and selling the game in China.”

Don’t feel too sorry for Yao. He’ll move on from basketball to enjoy his beer and fried chicken, and his legacy won’t be diminished by his injuries. And with more time on his hands during retirement, he can continue to grow the game of basketball in his home country and beyond.
-KEVIN ZIMMERMAN

YAO’s IMPACT ON THE ROCKETS:
15. That’s the Rockets’ difference in wins from the 2001-02 season to the 2002-03 season. The other difference? His name is Yao Ming, and after the Rockets drafted him No. 1 overall in 2002, he completely turned around their fortunes. In that ’01-’02 season that landed Houston the top pick, the Rockets won a mere 28 games. The season after, which was Yao’s rookie year? The team won 43 games.

So even though Yao Ming is now retiring following an injury-filled nine seasons (one of which he sat out) in the league, his presence will make him hard to forget. His influence on the game was so big that he easily made the All-Star Game his rookie season with averages of 13.5 points per game and 8.2 rebounds. He only played two full seasons in the league (his first two), but he still made a difference in arguably his three best years (’05-’06-through-’07-08 season), when he averaged at least 22 points and nine rebounds per game.

As Yao became a household name in both the U.S. and China, the Rockets became both a national and global team of interest. That was the Yao effect. He garnered attention everywhere he went as a likeable 7-footer that consistently led the Rockets toward winning records. Although Houston never made it further than the Western Conference semifinals, they only had one losing season with Yao on their team and made the playoffs five times. In the three seasons prior to Yao’s arrival, the team failed to make the playoffs.

For all the hyped No. 1 overall picks, Yao did the game justice. If not for injuries, he could have been more than just a big name and consistent All-Star. But his influence on the game and all of the interest he attracted makes him arguably one of the largest (both literally and figuratively) players to play the game. And that’s something that both the Rockets and fans of the game can appreciate.
-RACHEL MARCUS