Yao Ming may have an infectious smile off the court, but he was an expression of competitive ferociousness on it. Not every NBA player can play just 8 seasons and still be considered one of the finest ever to play a game of basketball. Coming from China, Yao had to deal with an entirely different culture in the NBA.
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Despite this barrier, Yao hit it off quickly with teammates like Cuttino Mobley. Even though they only played two seasons together, the pair shared a lot of good memories with each other. Over 20 years later, Mobley now looks back at one of the most memorable moments he had with Yao.
The Chinese superstar was unfamiliar with Western life when he first arrived in Houston. Mobley helped take him under his wing and teach him about life in the NBA. Mobley’s tutelage wasn’t just off the court but on the court as well.
Of course, Yao could hold his own. After all, he was the top overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft. The 7-foot-6 big man quickly ascended into a dominant force in the league. But that didn’t go without people attempting to punk the Houston Rockets’ star.
Steve Francis and Mobley understood the issues which could arise with Yao on the court. As a result, they vowed to defend their team’s star by any means possible. In one specific game against the Atlanta Hawks, Yao’s emotions reached a boiling point.
In a recent interview together, Mobley received a picture featuring the two from that game. The photo highlights Mobley holding Yao back after he received a bruise near his shoulder blade. Although the moment took place in 2003, Mobley remembers what went down vividly.
“We came back and won,” Mobley said. “You dunked it so hard, I was so excited. After you dunked it really hard, I wanted to punch them in the face,” he added.
The play which Mobley is referring to is when Yao totally dwarfed Theo Ratliff. It wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill dunk. Leading up to that moment, Ratliff had got the best of Yao on a dunk of his own. The two bigs were brutally battling down low in the paint.
That poster slam ignited the entire Rockets team. Yao even received a technical foul for taunting, which was to the delight of the rest of his teammates. However, Mobley understood the team couldn’t afford for Yao to get thrown from the game, which led to the former Rockets star adding more context to the situation.
“See how he’s scratched up? He probably wanted to kill someone. I was holding him back because I didn’t feel like battling with just me and Steve,” Mobley said.
Yao got into another altercation after receiving his first technical. In fear of the eight-time All-Star receiving a second tech, Mobley made sure to hold him back. His efforts paid off, and according to Mobley, Houston went on to win the game dramatically.
