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Countdown: Yao's top 11 games of 2002-03
Game #11
 In a look back on Yao's top 11 games of last season, we rated Yao's game against the Toronto Raptors on March 5th as his #11th best game. The Rockets won that game 97-95. See related "Countdown" summary below. (Reuters photo) |
| Let's take a trip down memory lane and reflect back on Yao's top games of his rookie season. For the next 11 weeks, we will countdown Yao's best 11 games (in honor of his jersey number that will surely be retired in the NBA Hall of Fame). By using the word "best," we aren't just focusing on the statistics. We're looking at everything. This week we start with game #11 - Yao vs. the Toronto Raptors on March 5th.
In that game, Yao overcame a rough start and eventually scored 21 points (9-for-17 from the field, 4-for-5 from the line), had 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block to help pace the Rockets to a 97-95 victory in Toronto. This game was an important one for the Rockets. At the time, we thought if the Rockets went on to make the playoffs, this was the game that would have been a big key to getting there. What makes this game impressive is that Yao had a stretch where he shot 8-for-10 from the field, and had a clutch performance in the fourth quarter where he shot 5-for-7 from the field (and 3-for-4 from the free throw line). To get a better experience of what this game was like and what the players said about him afterwards, click on the link in the first paragraph for the game summary and Detailed Yao Analysis that was written immediately after the game. Enjoy! cYao |
Game #10
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We rank Yao's game against Golden State on March 21st as being his 10th best game of last season. Yao finished with 23 points (8-for-14 from the field, 6-for-6 from the line), 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 blocks. He sank 6 free throws in the fourth quarter of a very tight game to put it away, and scored his first NBA 3-pointer! It all happened in a very important game that had playoff implications in front of the largest crowd in Golden State franchise history. Click here to see our full account of that game, including one of the most memorable photos taken of Yao last season.
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Game #9
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On 1/31/03, The Rockets played one of their best games of the season and blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves at Compaq Center 121-101. Yao scored 24 points (8-for-12 from the field, 8-for-9 from the line), had 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. This game was an important one for Yao because it was his second straight 20+ point game after a stretch of games where some people had said he had hit the "rookie wall" and might not recover for the rest of the season. He put those sentiments to rest with this performance.
Statistically, this was one of Yao's better games. It was his fourth highest scoring total for any game up to that point in the season. Combine his stats with the fact he helped blowout the Timberwolves, and you have the 9th top game for Yao in 2002-03. Check out the game summary that was written immediately following the game, including the Detailed Yao Analysis where we describe one of the top plays of the season (right before halftime). |
Game #8
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Yao and the Rockets had one of their best road games of the season in defeating the Orlando Magic 91-81 on January 8th, 2003. This game ranks as Yao's 8th best game as he scored 23 points (he hit 6 field goals in a row during one stretch of the game) and shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the line.
This game was momentous because it was broadcast live to China. The victory also snapped a 10-game Rocket losing streak in Orlando. Click here to read a more detailed summary of the game and Yao's incredible performance, his famous no-look pass near the end of the game, and extremely complimentary quotes from some of the Magic players. As a side note unrelated to Yao's top performances last season, after this Orlando game Shaquille O'Neal's infamous comments about Yao became more known to the public. Some media members gave me credit for helping break the story because of a posting I put on my Web site two days after this Orlando game. I have kept my original post at the bottom of the Orlando game summary page, which was only one week prior to Shaq and Yao's first monumental match-up on January 17th. |
Game #7
| We have ranked Yao's game against the Sacramento Kings in Houston on February 2nd as his 7th best game of his NBA rookie season. Yao got off to a fast start to dominate the game: in one stretch, he hit 7 shots in a row, and ultimately finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 6 assists (his NBA career high).
In this game, his teammates seemed intent in getting him the ball, which didn't happen in his rookie season as much as you would have thought before the season started. Result? Yao helped blow open the game early to topple the Kings 105-89. Yao also drew raves from the Sacramento TV announcers, whose comments are included in our recap of the game. Go ahead, click on it to relive the memories. |
Game #6
 Yao does his Dennis Rodman impression by coming out of nowhere and hustling for a loose rebound against the Washington Wizards in Houston. This game ranks as game #6 in our weekly series ranking Yao's best games of 2002-03. |
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We have selected Yao's performance on November 22nd against the Washington Wizards as his sixth best game of the 2002-03 season. In this game he received his first start of the season after showing in the previous two games he was definitely starting lineup material. Can you believe there was a time when Houston's coaches didn't think he would be ready to start until late in the season? Hah!
Against the Wiz he scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shots, shot 4-for-4 from the free throw line, racked up 8 rebounds and blocked 4 shots to help the Rockets win 93-86. Also, for the first time in a real game, Yao showed how versatile he is by scoring on an array of shots. For a trip down memory lane, click here to read what we wrote immediately after the game. |
Game #5
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We have ranked Yao's game on December 18th against the Indiana Pacers as his fifth best game of the season. Statistically, it was one of his best: 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting (including 5-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter), 6 blocks, 10 rebounds, and a steal. In the summary we wrote right after the game, we included many quotes from Bill Walton, who was covering the game for ESPN. After reading those quotes (including some sprinkled throughout the Detailed Yao Analysis), you'll understand why Bill Walton is one of Yao Ming's biggest fans.
Now that we're getting into the final 5 games of our countdown, a case could be made that any of these games could be ranked as Yao's top game. Remember, though, we're not just looking at statistics, but other factors. The next few games in our countdown will be very interesting, and will surely spark some debate. |
Game #4
 In our countdown of the top 11 games for Yao last season, his game against the Dallas Mavericks on 11/21 ranks as his fourth best. |
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Yao's game against the Dallas Mavericks on November 21st has been chosen as his 4th best game of the 2002-03 season. Leading up to this game, there were still many doubts from much of the press about his abilities. He shut many of them up in this game. In only 33 minutes, he dominated by scoring 30 points (10-12 FGs, 10-12 FTs), racking up 16 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
Although the Rockets lost this game because his teammates gave him no help, Yao obliterated Maverick center Shawn Bradley (0 points, 1 block and 2 rebounds), who seemed contemptuous of him before this game. This game should shut him up for good, too. He also gave Maverick owner Mark Cuban an up-close view of his greatness, silencing him as well. To see what I'm talking about, and to relive this magnificent performance, click here to read the full summary of the game. |
Game #3
 Yao Ming's game against the San Antonio Spurs ranks as his third best. On this play, Yao's jump shot is just about untouchable, even to 7-footers like San Antonio's Kevin Willis. The Rockets went on to beat the Spurs 89-75 in Houston. |
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We're getting into the stretch run of our countdown on Yao Ming's top games of his rookie season. Although Yao had experienced some statistical success over the previous couple of weeks and surprised many, some skeptics thought his first match-up against David Robinson and Tim Duncan would put him in his place.
Yao not only met the challenge, but dominated with 27 points on 10-18 shooting (and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line), 18 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. As a result, this game ranks as Yao's third best game of the season. Read the YaoMingMania.com detailed summary by clicking here, and also check out the quotes from some of the world champion Spurs. You can't help but read these quotes and get even more excited as Yao prepares for his second year in the NBA. |
Game #2
 In our countdown of the top 11 games for Yao last season, his game against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 17th ranks as his second best and most memorable. On this play, Yao blocks Shaq's first shot of the game, which sends Shaq to the floor. The Rockets beat the Lakers 108-104 in a classic overtime victory. |
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Wow, this was a tough choice. We picked the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 17th as Yao Ming's second best game of his rookie year. It easily could have been named #1. It had all the elements -- a match-up against the biggest player in the league (Shaq), Yao blocking 6 shots (5 were against Shaq), a hysterical crowd, famous luminaries in attendance, a huge television audience, and a victory in overtime (108-104) on a game-winning dunk in the game's final seconds. It lived up to its billing as one of the most anticipated games of the NBA season. It even took on Super Bowl proportions as "Yao vs. Shaq I" became the label for this game, especially after news broke a week beforehand regarding Shaq's controversial statements that offended many Chinese.
This game arguably was the most exciting game of the year for the Rockets because of the performance of other key players. Steve Francis scored 44 points and had 11 assists, while Cuttino Mobley had 29 points while going 10-for-10 from the free throw line. The reason this game wasn't picked as Yao's #1 game of the season was because his stats were average with 10 points (5-for-14 from the field) and 10 rebounds. But those 6 blocks, three coming against Shaq in the first 3 minutes, and that final dunk to win it made it a very special game for him that will be talked about for years. Every Yao fan was proud after this game and had to be on a "high" for days. I even spent a total of 9 hours writing up the game summary because it was such an important and historical game. I also went into more analysis of more offensive comments from Shaq that were spoken before and after the game. Relive the details of Yao's second top game of his rookie year by clicking here to read the game summary. |
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