NBA Top 50: Yao Ming (No. 10)

FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.

Will Yao Ming actually be able to focus on the NBA now? I don't mean to sound selfish, but for the past four seasons it has seemed everything Yao did came as preparation for Beijing '08. Even the first two seasons of Yao's American career came with China's important entry in Athens as a task ahead. Again: I'm not a selfish fan who demands that Yao Ming, greatest athlete in the history of China, entertains me, some low-level bum schlepping in Sacramento, before he does anything else, including represent his country in one of the most important cultural events in modern times.

But as a fan of beautiful basketball, I have waited so long to see Yao at his dominant, indomitable peak. Do we get to yet?
Yao really is a player like no other. There are certain circumstances a height of 7'6 demand, such as limited mobility. Giraffes don't go from zero-to-fast in two seconds, and neither does Yao Ming. But it's also a bit demanded that someone so tall block a few shots, and Yao does this (more than two per game on his career). He also corrals a ton of rebounds -- not a given at a certain height. (Ask Shawn Bradley.) Yao can score repeatedly in the paint, and despite some spotty use of leverage, he gets into position well. He's not your typical Shaqian tank, but that doesn't mean you can just punt him out of the paint.

The fantastic thing about Yao: he takes all of those circumstantial attributes bestowed by his DNA and adds in some of the most refined skills you've ever seen on a big man. Yao doesn't rack up a ton of assists, but no one but Tracy McGrady does on the iso-focused (until Adelman) Rockets. He also gives up a bit too many turnovers, but his high usage makes it understandable. It's Yao's bevy of offensive moves, ones which embolden his size advantage to create the sort of beast nearly unstoppable when he's on.

These manifest is various ways: clean looks from 12+ feet, dribble-drives to the rim, sound pivot maneuvers, and the all-important foul drawn. Yao's epic 2006-07 regular season performance (over only 48 games, mind you) came on the back of nine FTAs per game. That sort of attacking spirit isn't often found in players taller than 7'1 -- usually, the true mammoths of the league have to focus on controlling their body, lest turnovers -- charges, out-of-control dribbles, black hole destinations -- pile up. Yao's different. When he attacks, the full concept of his basketball being comes into focus. Only at that point do his exceptional physical gifts and his years of skill development really come into union to create what could be the best big man in the game.

After watching one half of a season under Adelman, I'm not sure Yao will regain his shark-like posture full-time this season. It may be for the better for Houston, as the team certainly has the depth to compete into May and possibly June. If taking a lesser load on offense (as was the case in '07-08, before Artest's arrival and Scola's emergence) saves Yao from a nagging injury or April exhaustion, the team wins. The lack of any real future commitment to Team China must help, too -- I've yet to see anyone involved say Yao wouldn't have opted for midseason surgery during Houston's wild streak last season if not for the Beijing Olympics. But Adelman knows as well as almost anyone that Yao can turn into the shark in any game, including a Game 7 in the first round or a must-win in March. It's a helluva tool to have in the basket ... I just hope it can be unleashed on a regular basis.