The Length Of A Big Man’s Career

It still remains unclear if Yao Ming’s foot injury is a career ender or if he’ll just miss the 2009-2010 season. While it remains to be seen if the injury will greatly affect the Rockets’ chances next season; remember that the Rockets pushed the Lakers to seven games without Yao in the second round.

However, an career ending injury isn’t uncommon for a player of Yao’s height or a career plauged with injuries. Example:

• Gheorge Muresan, at 7’7” played for six seasons in the Association
• Shawn Bradley at 7’6” may have played for 12 seasons, but a majority of that time was probably spent on the bench.
• Manute Bol at 7’7” spent 10 seasons bouncing around as a defensive specialist

Now where Yao differs from his fellow extra big men is that he’s a starter and plays a large amount of minutes (perhaps more than Bradley’s entire career) and just as much of an offensive specialist as he’s a defensive guy.