Houston, You Have A Problem: Yao Ming Doubts He Can Ever Play Again

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is beginning to doubt if he’ll ever play in the NBA again.
His latest injury, a fractured ankle, may have been the last domino to fall in what has been an injury plagued career for the 7’6 Chinaman.
Here’s what Yao told CCTV news:

“I don’t know if I would join some champion team in the future. I don’t even know if I can play again.”

If by the grace of God he does hit the NBA hardwood again, part of his motivation will be his young daughter:

“I wish she could watch me play and even win a championship. Not only see through video highlights how her dad played. She is definitely a big motivation for me to continue, although my foot still needs lots of treatment.”
“Walking or jogging is okay… but I need to get 80 percent of my strength back to play. I have got only about 30 percent at most now.”

Earlier n his career, the drive for an NBA championship motivated Yao to fight through his injuries and work on his game, but that drive for the trophy isn’t there anymore. Yao sounds content to end his career in Houston without a championship ring:

“A championship ring has become not so important in my plans,” Yao said. “My main thought for the next 10 years is to look after my family and continue my community activities.”
“I have spent the best 10 years of my life playing and living (in Houston),” the All-Star said. “That makes it much harder to bid farewell.”

Yao becomes another NBA statistic. Most of the NBA’s giants suffer through numerous injuries because of their size. It happened to Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Walton, former Rocket Sam Bowie, and more recently Greg Oden just to name a few. 

It’s as if injuries are unavoidable for most of the NBA’s 7-footers. Yao’s contract comes to an end after this season so after reading these comments, it’s safe to say we’ve seen the last of Yao Ming barring an amazing rehab over this summer.