Yao Ming entered the NBA as his first foreign player in 2002, and retired in 2011 at the age of 30 due to injury, during which time he played for the Rockets became the NBA team most concerned by Chinese fans.
Although the Spurs led by Duncan did not meet with the Rockets in the playoffs at that time, when the two teams met in the regular season, the game was often inseparable, and the dialogue between Yao Ming and Duncan's two major internal lines was also endlessly memorable.
When Yao Ming entered the NBA, Duncan was 26 years old, he had won a championship, was selected for the best team and the best defensive team many times, and was one of the best interior lines in the league.
According to statistics, Yao Ming and Duncan have played each other 23 times, Yao Ming has only achieved a record of 8 wins and 15 losses, and Duncan has achieved a record of 15 wins and 8 losses, in terms of record, Duncan has defeated Yao Ming, so how is their personal performance when they are in power?
Yao Ming averaged 34.2 minutes per game, averaged 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds (2.3 frontcourt rebounds, 6.1 backcourt rebounds), 1.7 assists, 0.3 steals, 1.7 blocks, 13.9 shots per game, 7 hits per game, shooting 50.2% from the field and 81.4% from the free throw line.
Duncan averaged 37.3 minutes per game, averaged 21 points, 11.1 rebounds (2.9 frontcourt rebounds, 8.2 backcourt rebounds), 3 assists, 1 steal, 2.4 blocks, 18.1 shots per game, 7.9 hits per game, 43.5 percent from the field, and 68.4 percent from the free throw line.
Comparison can be found that Duncan averaged 3.5 points higher than Yao Ming, averaged 2.7 rebounds per game than Yao Ming, averaged 1.3 more assists per game than Yao Ming, averaged 0.7 more steals per game than Yao Ming, averaged 0.7 more blocks per game than Yao Ming, Yao Ming's performance in these areas was not as good as Duncan, and the only fig leaf was the shooting rate - Yao Ming's shooting rate is 6.7 percentage points higher than Duncan's, his score is less than Duncan's, but his scoring efficiency is higher, and his free throw shooting rate is 13 percentage points higher than Duncan's, and there are few inside lines that can be better than Yao Ming in terms of free throws.
Yao Ming is 2 meters 26 meters tall, the arm span is also 2 meters 26, and the standing touch height is 2 meters 90. Duncan is 2 meters 11 tall, and his specific arm span is unknown, which is rumored to be 2 meters 30. Duncan's arm span is very scary, but his height is 15 centimeters shorter than Yao Ming,and Yao Ming's height combined with his arm forms a barrier, effectively reducing Duncan's shooting percentage.
Duncan averaged 45.9 percent per game against Garnett, 52.2 percent against Nowitzki and 46.9 percent per game against O'Neal. Even against Garnett, who has won the best defensive player, Duncan's shooting rate remains above 45%, while when facing Yao Ming, his shooting rate is only 43.5%, which shows that Yao Ming has caused him great interference.
In 23 games against Yao Ming, Duncan shot more than 50 percent in only seven of them, but in 10 of them he shot less than 40 percent and 10 of them scored less than 20 points. Yao Ming, on the other hand, shot more than 50 percent in 14 games, including more than 70 percent in two of them and 75 percent in the highest game, where he had the only advantage against Duncan.
When facing Duncan, Yao Ming is not as good as Duncan in terms of scoring, grabbing rebounds, passing, steals and blocks, which is not shameful, after all, Duncan is one of the best interior lines in the history of the NBA, facing such a super inside line, Yao Ming is down in all aspects, but he has not been blown up by Duncan, he has made Duncan's offensive efficiency very low on the defensive end, so that the game has not appeared one-sided, which is also a reason why fans love to watch.