Remember When: Yao Ming and Brandon Roy's Two Seconds of Madness

I would have donated my knees and ankles to these men

We know how the story ends in the NBA for both Brandon Roy and Yao Ming. Too early.

To call either of their stories “sad” would be disingenuous. Between them, there are seven All-NBA selections, 11 All-Star Games, and a laundry list of spectacular individual moments. Also, to claim that any human’s story is finished when they leave the public view is wholly unfair to them. Both of these guys are still alive, contributing to society, experiencing new things daily. They’re still human beings. We’re talking only about their careers in the NBA.

In that case, to call either of their NBA stories complete wouldn’t be fair either, because Ming was out of the league at 30 and Roy could barely rent a car before his knees betrayed him, but he tried to stick it out anyway before officially calling it quits at 28. The brevity of both Roy and Ming’s playing careers makes the accomplishments they packed in all the more impressive, but also, inevitably, leads to the dangerous question of what if they had just stayed healthy?

Neither of them did. But the reason that question gets asked so frequently is because both Roy and Yao were so… damn… good in their healthy moments. Brilliance wasn’t flashed, as basketball fans like to say. It was exerted for pretty much the entirety of both careers.

You probably can’t learn everything about two basketball players in ten seconds of game time, but that’s not gonna stop me from trying. Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.

We’re in the waning seconds of a game between Houston and Portland on November 6, 2008, two days after Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. That anecdote doesn’t play a part in this story but if we’re talking about careers that didn’t turn out how we thought they would, it’s worth a mention I guess.

Anyway, this play starts with Tracy McGrady— another guy who didn’t reach his sky-high ceiling because of injuries— missing a jumper with just over 10 seconds left in a tie game against Portland. Travis Outlaw (one of the great names in sports history, FWIW) grabs the rebound and hands it off to Brandon Roy, who reminds us quickly that he was one of the most skilled scorers in the late-2000s NBA by taking the ball upcourt and pulling out a sort of hesi-spin move that leaves two defenders on the ground, then hitting a fadeaway 18-footer. That shot puts the Blazers up 98-96, 1.9 seconds remaining.

Note: If you’re wondering specifically how talented of a scorer Roy was, this season, 2008-09, he finished 10th in the league in scoring at 22.6 points per game, a number that won’t blow you away in the inflated scoring era we’re in now but becomes more impressive when you read the august list of names that scored more than him: Wade, James, Bryant, Nowitzki, Granger, Durant, Anthony, Paul, Bosh. During his short-lived peak, that was Roy’s company.

Then Yao, in a flash, showcases so much of what made him so special. Inbounding from the sideline, Rafer Alston— who deserves his own story, too— whips it to Yao, who’s set up facing away from the basket on the baseline with Joel Pryzbilla on his back. As soon as Yao catches, Roy scrambles over to double team, but Yao is already turning to shoot, and Roy smacks his arm. Foul. Bucket. A chance to take the lead for Houston, 0.8 on the clock.

A few modern centers make shots like this; Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Wemby. Aside from the fact that two of them have MVP’s and the third one will inevitably have some MVP’s when he retires, none of them have the size that Yao had, which sounds bizarre, but it’s true. Wemby (almost) has the height but not nearly the same frame as Yao. Embiid and Jokic have relatively similar builds, but are both a half-foot shorter than Yao, who measured 7-foot-6, 310 pounds. Yao’s coordination, footwork, balance and swiftness on his feet are, to this day, unparalleled if we’re measuring on a pound-for-pound, foot-by-foot basis.

This shot from Yao literally makes Ron Artest jump for joy. When was the last time you jumped for joy? Truly jumped up in the air because you were so happy or stunned about something that staying stationary on the ground didn’t feel adequate? If you answered more than one year, you should change that. Jump for joy this week. Maybe say “Yippee!” too.

Anyway, Yao hits the free throw, vaulting Houston back in front, 99-98 with 0.8 seconds on the clock. At this point, non-basketball fans likely think this game is over— a rational conclusion to reach. With less than one second remaining, the Blazers will need a borderline miracle to win, but mathematically they’re still alive, thanks to the “Trent Tucker Rule,” which states that if more than 0.3 seconds are on the clock, a player has time to catch the ball and shoot it before time runs out. 0.8 is a world of time, when you measure it that way.

You must remember that this game is taking place in a pre-Steph Curry world. Shooting threes from 87 feet away hasn’t been normalized yet. That’s why, when Brandon Roy breaks from the middle of the key to the top of the arc to receive Steve Blake’s inbound pass, Tracy McGrady— who is guarding Roy— doesn’t follow him, instead pointing to Ron Artest, as if to say “hey, go guard him,” or maybe to say “can you believe that’s the shot he’s going to take?”

Again, it’s a fair question to ask. Roy’s shot ends up being a fadeaway from behind where Blake inbounded the ball. It’s hard to tell if Roy even looks at the basket before he rises to shoot.

It goes in. Everyone goes nuts.

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Brandon Roy retired from basketball less than four years after this game due to Stage III Degenerative Arthritis in his knees, which eventually eliminates all cartilage and potentially creates need for a knee replacement. Roy is eighth all-time in points per game for a Portland Trail Blazer.

As for Yao, his combination of nearly unprecedented size and skill helped him earn five All-NBA awards, but it’s also what cut his career so short. That much weight, that much movement, that much wear on a pair of feet and legs will eventually catch up to a person. In 2011, at 30 years old, Ming retired from playing basketball.

Neither of these guys stayed away from the sport for long. Roy is the head boy’s basketball coach at Garfield High School in Seattle, and Yao became a basketball executive in China (and was also awarded the Proletariat Award from the CCP for his advocation and assistance in spreading literacy, very based.)

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What I’m Listening to: Mulatu Astatke