Yao Ming was really a unique talent in the NBA. He’s one of five players to be selected to the All-Star Game in every season he played and one of two to be a starter in each of those matches. The Chinese giant was something to behold, and recently some folks wondered what would happen if Yao was part of the current NBA.
Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye competed against Ming during his career, and the duo thinks the Houston Rockets icon would have been unfair if he took on the court right now. During a recent edition of “Road Trippin'”, they were asked about the challenge of going against Yao, which opened the door for an entertaining conversation.
Co-host Allie Clifton inquired about Frye’s encounters with Ming, and he explained how gifted the Chinese center was for a player his height (1:05).
“It was impossible. … Imagine, Yao Ming shot the technical fouls for Houston,” Frye explained. “Crazy (touch). Even if you thought you did good, he was just like turnaround jumper like you shoot on little kids. … You can’t double team him. He was just going to pass to Ron Artest, who’s averaging 30 that year.”
Duncan Robinson asked how good he would be if he played today, and Frye made it clear: MVP.
Richard Jefferson explained that the small-ball strategy wouldn’t work with Ming no matter how quick defenders were.
“Draymond’s not guarding him, like that small ball five?” Jefferson said. “P.J. Tucker, like you can’t do that with a guy that size. Because he will just duck in. You put it up, you shouldn’t collapse and then you throw it out. Somebody might toughen him up in the pick-and-roll, but like him, Shaq, you couldn’t go Draymond on Shaq.”
Yao was really great during his time in the league. Unfortunately, injuries hurt him during his career, and cut it short before he could do more damage to his defenders. A healthy Ming right now would be unstoppable. No matter how fast the game is, he was really quick and could adapt to these situations. Honestly, it’s easy to see why Frye and Jefferson think he would have been a top 10 player in today’s league.
