Rockets' Yao Ming Snubbed From HoopsHype's Top-20 Centers

From a historical standpoint, the Houston Rockets have had a number of legendary big men. The list of Hall of Fame centers that have donned a Rockets uniform is extensive. 

Ralph Sampson, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming, Dwight Howard.

The list is lengthy. 

In the case of Sampson, Olajuwon, and Yao, they were all selected first overall in their respective draft classes, delivering hope of a future to a franchise that fell tough on their luck in previous years.

Sampson, Malone, and Olajuwon all led the franchise to the NBA Finals. 

Yao didn't quite get that far, but led the Rockets to the Western Conference Semifinals in 2009, and helped the Rockets push the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers to seven games, despite not having his second star, Tracy McGrady, due to injury. 

However, Yao entered the NBA with an abundance of hype. As a teenager, he was a young prodigy, playing professionally from the age of 13 until entering the NBA at age 22.

It's not often that we see a 7-foot-6 NBA superstar. Furthermore, there haven't been that many 7'6 players at all.

In fact, there aren't that many 7'6 people in the world.

Yao's NBA career lasted eight seasons, due to injury, which has become commonplace for people with a similar frame and future as him. Because of the shortened career, people overlook his dominance and/or greatness during his era. 

In fact, HoopsHype concocted their list of the top-20 centers of all-time and Yao didn't make the list. 

A quick peruse of the list makes it clear that players with championships under their belt are magnified. For example, 17 of the 20 players have won titles, with Patrick Ewing, Joel Embiid, and Artis Gilmore being the lone exception.

However, Yao's career averages (19 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.6 assists, 52.4 percent from the field, 83.3 percent from the charity stripe) rank better than several players on the list (Wes Unseld, Bill Walton, Dave Cowens, Nate Thurmond).

Not to say anyone on the list wasn't great in their own right, this just illustrates the challenge with historical lists. Someone is going to get slighted, because the author pre-determines the criteria.

Everyone defines dominance differently. For example, many would argue Yao over Walton.

Yao's basketball resume entails eight All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams. Meaning he was a top-three center at his peak.

And his postseason averages didn't decline (19.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 51.9 percent from the field). And this doesn't include his global and cultural impact off the court.