THETRUTHSPORTS

(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Early Wednesday morning Yao Ming officially announced his retirement from the NBA. The 8-time All-Star was plagued by injuries in the last two years of his career and mentioned early in his recover that retirement could be in option. Yao had begun to strongly consider retiring in December after another stress fracture was found in his left foot. In the months that followed, he said his intention was to return to the Rockets next season, but on Wednesday he described that as wishful thinking.

The Houston Rockets were unable to get past the second round of the Playoffs during Yao’s tenure, but amassed a small fortune from his presence on the team. The Rockets are the 5th wealthiest team in the NBA primarily from Yao’s China connection.

“This is a sad day for me as well as the entire Houston Rockets organization,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement. “Yao Ming was a great basketball player, but he’s distinguished himself as an even better person. 

“From the moment he arrived in Houston with unprecedented expectations, he handled himself with poise, dignity, purpose and pride well beyond his years.”  

As Houston Rockets fans we wish Yao the best, and thank him for being a consumate professional during his time in Houston. There was never a moment I felt as if Yao was not trying to better himself and his team.

Here is the full transcript from Yao’s press conference:

Good afternoon!

Today is an important day for me. It is a day of special significance for both my past professional career and future endeavors.

At the end of last year, I once again had a stress fracture in my left foot and had to sit out of basketball. Since then, like many friends who cared about me, I waited and hoped that I could return. It was also a frustrating period, many thoughts crossed my mind. Today, I am ready to announce to everyone my decision: I will end my athletic career and formally retire from the game of basketball.

At this moment, looking towards the future and looking back through the past, my heart is full of gratitude.

First and foremost, I want to thank the game of basketball. This great sport has brought joy to untold numbers of people, including myself. When I was four years old, I got my first basketball. At nine, I entered a youth sports school in Xuhui district (in Shanghai). I joined the Shanghai Junior Team at 14. And when I was 16 years old, I put on my dad’s former number, and joined the Shanghai Sharks senior team in competition.

Basketball has allowed me to follow in my family’s footsteps. Whenever I see the joy and satisfaction in my parents’ eyes, I feel a strong sense of pride. I was also fortunate to win a CBA Championship with my teammates for the city of Shanghai in 2002. From that moment on, basketball has connected me with this great city. During that same year, I entered the NBA. Basketball has led me to a bigger and broader stage to showcase my abilities. It’s a dream for many to play for the National Team. So in fulfilling my dream, I am especially grateful of the opportunity to play for my country for so many years. And because of basketball, I have found the love of my life Ye Li, and a lifetime of happiness. Basketball has given me so much and for this, I want to thank the game of basketball.

Continue reading “BE WELL YAO!” »

Yao Ming will miss the rest of the season(again) because of the stress fracture in his left ankle.

The Rockets announced the decision Friday, a day after the injury was found in an MRI exam. Team physician Walter Lowe said surgery is the usual treatment for such an injury, which has sidelined Yao since Nov. 10.

The 30-year-old Yao is still consulting with doctors to determine how he will proceed. If he chooses surgery, it could be up to 10 months before he can return to the court.

The seven-time All-Star sat out last season after reconstructive surgery to repair his broken left foot. Lowe said this injury is related to last year’s injury. He said the reconstructive surgery on his foot does not put him at a greater risk of stress fractures, but that Yao has always been prone to them.

“I think until we learn more, we still see Yao Ming as a potential future part of the team,” said Morey. “We need to continue to talk to the doctors and see where that goes. Obviously, Yao Ming is an All-Star center. You look throughout the league and there’s not many of them. So if it looks like there’s a good prognosis here, and we’re still learning how good that prognosis will be, then for sure we’re going to look at Yao Ming past this season.”

So what do the Rockets do now?

The amount of attention and revenue Yao has brought to the Rockets is without question. Yao is responsible for opening up the global community to the NBA, and the Rockets have invested over $70 million into Yao over his career. $31 million + Yao earned over the last two years, while playing only 91 minutes.

Yao has played in only 9 games but remains the most popular center in the Western Conference with 430,984 votes in the 2011 All-Star Game. He sits 232,940 ahead of Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers in second place.

The right thing to do for the Rockets is to show loyalty, and re-sign Yao to a much, much smaller amount, with the hopes he can used off the bench sparingly throughout the season. Then come playoff time add height and an ability to space the floor on offense. Yao could end up being a phenomenal sixth-man.

The Rockets went 42-40 and missed the playoffs with Yao on the sideline last season, and are just 10-15 so far this year, at the bottom of the Southwest Division.

Morey said the team has prepared for this possibility and that the Rockets are resilient and will get past this setback.

“We still feel like we’re a team that can make the playoffs this season,” Morey said. “We feel like we’re fighting with about four or five other teams for maybe the seven, eight seed this season. I know our guys in the locker room aren’t writing the season off. I know I’m not. I know coach [Rick] Adelman isn’t. We still think this can be a great season.”