I was watching Yao Ming’s top 10 career highlights and thought “I wonder how this would compare to another first overall pick who is about the same height, 20 years later”. I then watched Wemby’s top 10 plays of just his rookie season and the difference was astounding. None of Yao’s career plays would crack Wemby’s top 10 in a single season. Now I realize most people already thought Wemby was better and I don’t mean to disrespect Yao (he is a HOFer after all)… but I think people might find it interesting to watch them one after another to see the scale of contrast.
Yao Top 10 Career Plays: https://youtu.be/htm7b_saqcs?feature=shared
Wembenyama Top 10 Rookie Season Plays: https://youtu.be/cqImCWuMdVk?feature=shared
by anxiouslion
4 Comments
Yao was a phenomenal player. It speaks more to how unreal Wemby is than disrespecting Yao
Considering Tim Duncan is our franchise goat, we should know better than anyone than to compare the quality of a player by their highlight reel.
They are completely different players, in completely different eras. To me that would be like comparing Chris Webber and Kevin Durant. Just because they are around the some height, and on paper KD now plays the same position as Webber did throughout his career, they have completely different roles, in different eras, and saying one is great/better/more versatile, should not be used to insult the other.
I am a huge fan of Yao, and think he is grossly underrated by younger fans who never saw him.
Of guys who have been 7’4 or taller, (before Wemby) Yao stands alongside Ralph Sampson and Rik Smits as guys who still had the skill level to play in the NBA if they were 6’10: and I reckon Yao would’ve had a better career if he was shorter and stayed healthy. The guy was a post threat, who had a great touch in the mid range and FT shooting. I have no doubt that he could’ve also added a 3pt shot if coming up in today’s game. His problem was always the lack of athleticism and quickness/lateral movement, so he was always going to have trouble on defence.
Yao was amazing and very skilled, but he had limitations that you would expect of someone of that height. Wemby does not have those limitations and is unusually athletic for his height.