This summer, 20 years ago, Yao Ming was drafted with the first pick by the Houston Rockets.

This summer, 13 years ago, the Houston Rockets announced that Yao would miss the entire 2009-10 season with another foot injury, and that was basically the end of his career.

As a Houston Rockets fan who grew up watching Yao, it is interesting looking back on his legacy both on and off the court. No one hates Yao, in the same way that a NBA fan might hate LeBron or Kobe or Luka or (especially) Harden. Go on any highlight video or Twitter thread about Yao, and you will quickly find the same sort of comments: that Yao transcended basketball, or that he could have been an all-time great if not for injuries, or how skilled he was.

It is that first point which I think should be looked at. Because as much as Yao transcended basketball, in a way he failed to live up to the promise off the court that he presented in the way that he failed to live up to the promise he presented on the court.

This is not Yao’s fault, any more than his injuries were his fault. But Yao Ming sort of presented a promise of a better world between the US and China, which today in 2022 and with the Taiwan strait becoming an ever-bigger problem looks ludicrous today.

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