It’s a tough spot that both Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets are in right now. Quite a unique one as well. Yao, who is the most recognizable Chinese person in the world (come on, he’s 7’6″) has a stress fracture in the foot and will be out for the rest of the NBA season. That part is not in doubt; here’s the tricky side of it: Yao is the centrepiece of not only China’s national basketball team but is a key cog in relations between the NBA (maybe even America) and his native country.
Don’t forget, the Olympics games are being held this summer in China, and they’ll want to show the world exactly what they can do in every sport. It is very possible that they could “persuade” Yao to come back a bit earlier than he probably should to play in the games.
Have you ever heard a story of a player coming back earlier than he should with a positive ending? More often than not, the injury is aggravated and the player’s career (and sometimes even life) are adversely affected by rushing themselves into action.
The Rockets did know what they were getting into when they drafted the Chinese big man a few years back, now his and the team’s future could be quite clouded due to this horrid politics.