Yao > Shaq, sorry. The only reason he was so dominant and "great" (in some people's eyes) he was big, nobody could match him physically. Once Yao came to the league, that gave Shaq a bit of a reality check. In the end, Jokic > Shaq and others.
Shaq was in a class by himself when it came to Centers. Yao was special because of his touch around the basket and his ability to move so well at that size.
Yao had everything, to be one of the greatest ambassadors in league history in the 8-9 years he played. I can't speak on his game, but it always seemed like he was fundamentally sound with a great shooting touch - free throw/threes/mid-range, defense, rebounding ability, post game, and often get missed - his passing ability, not in terms of number assists, but having a good court vision. And of course, his personality was larger than life.
I followed Yao’ s career from the get-go and he was super shy , timid in his rookie year's first few weeks but once he got adjusted to culture, new country, teammates, he started to show aggression and confidence and blossomed. Sad his career got cut short!
He becomes popular mainly because of his personality, he is humble, never angry and scold others, he also doing his best to stupid a foreign language so he can becomes part of the team. He follows order as a team so that's why both his teammates and fans like him a lot.
Yao started from a very bottom line which is far blow those native players. He's humble, skillful, kind, hard working with the people around. He truly deserves everything he got. What a legend.
