The 2005-06 NBA campaign was largely a lost season for the Houston Rockets due to injuries, but they also flashed their potential on several occasions and showed promise for better days ahead.
One of those promising days was March 15, 2006, when star center Yao Ming had a game-high 36 points (70.6% shooting) and 12 rebounds against future NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite Yao’s strong showing, the Mavericks still won the game, 95-81 (box score). That was in large part due to Nowitzki, who led the Mavs with 30 points (50% shooting) and 11 rebounds. The victory improved Dallas to 51-14, and they went on that season to win 60 games and eventually the Western Conference, advancing to the 2006 NBA Finals.
The 2005-06 Rockets finished 34-48, largely due to 25 games missed by Yao and 35 absences from co-star Tracy McGrady due to injury. McGrady did not play in the March 15 home loss to the Mavs.
In postgame comments, NBA veterans Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse (then with the Mavs) offered extensive praise for Yao’s performance.
Terry on Yao: An animal. He is playing like a beast. He is playing real aggressive. This is the best I have seen him play since he’s been in the league.
Stackhouse on Yao: This is the best I have ever seen him play. He’s the best center in the NBA right now on one end [offensive] of the court. Every team has to focus on him more than any other center in the NBA, even Shaq [O’Neal].
With better health, the Rockets won 52 or more games in each of the franchise’s next three seasons, including the 2008-09 squad that — led by their 7-foot-5 center from China — became the first Houston team in over a decade to win a series in the NBA playoffs.
Drafted No. 1 overall in the 2002 NBA Draft, Yao averaged 19.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 32.7 minutes per game over his first seven seasons with the Rockets from 2002 through 2009.
Though his career was cut short after 2009 due to a recurring foot injury, Yao’s career impact (on and off the court) was significant enough that he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
(Editor’s note: With the 2019-20 season on hiatus amid the NBA’s coronavirus-induced shutdown, we’re looking back at key moments in franchise history. We’ll have more of our Rockets Rewind series coming up, since the league’s stoppage is expected to last at least 30 days.)
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