Yao Ming is 2 meters 26 meters tall, the arm span is also 2 meters 26, and the weight is 141 kilograms. Although his arm span is not very good among NBA players, his height and weight are like small giants, which gives him a huge advantage on the offensive end, and his offensive efficiency in his rookie season is 111, not much different from Duncan's (112), and in the second season, he is 110, which is higher than that of O'Neal the "Big Shark" (109)...
However, at that time, the NBA had not yet entered the small-ball era, position attack was the main way of attack, Yao Ming had to increase weight in order to fight with O'Neal's top internal line, after gaining weight, he could withstand the impact of O'Neal to a certain extent, and he could also use the height and weight advantages at the offensive end to eat top defensive players such as Daben, but the drawbacks were also obvious, his movement speed became slower, and there was often a situation of physical exhaustion, which made him easy to be targeted on the defensive end.
Yao Ming did not play well against the Jazz, he not only needed to face Boozer, who could shoot in the middle and break through to the inside line with the ball, but also needed to face Oku, who could pull three-point shots outside the three-point line, and the combination of Boozell and Okur's inside line was aimed at Yao Ming's slow movement speed on the defensive end, and they consumed Yao Ming on the defensive end, resulting in Yao Ming's efficiency on the offensive end. So the question is, is it the Jazz's targeted arrangement that makes Yao Ming look bad on the defensive end, or is Yao Ming's defensive level always like this? Higher-order data will give the answer.
The 2002-2003 season was Yao Ming's rookie season, he played 82 games, contributed 0.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game on the defensive end, and was 100 defensively efficient, ranking 49th in the league. In the 2003-2004 season, yao Ming, a second-year student, played 82 games, contributed 0.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game on the defensive end, and ranked 26th in the league with a defensive efficiency of 97, and Yao Ming made great progress on both offensive and defensive ends in his second season.
In the 2004-2005 season, Yao Ming played 80 games, contributed 0.4 steals and 2 blocks per game on the defensive end, and ranked 10th in the league with a defensive efficiency of 99. Compared to the previous two seasons, Yao Ming evolved again in the third season, especially on the defensive end, and he has become one of the 10 best defensive players in the league.
In the 2005-2006 season, Yao Ming began to have injuries, he only played 57 games due to injury, but also because of injuries, his performance on the defensive end showed a downward trend, averaging 0.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, defensive efficiency of 100, ranking 15th in the league, this season his defensive efficiency is the same as Tyson Chandler, but his number of appearances is relatively small, ranking lower than Chandler.
In the 2006-2007 season, Yao Ming suffered another injury, playing only 48 games due to injury, scoring a career-high 25 points per game on the offensive end and contributing 0.4 steals and 2 blocks per game on the defensive end, but his defensive efficiency did not rank due to insufficient appearances.
In the 2007-2008 season, Yao Ming and is injured continuously, he only played 55 games due to injury, three consecutive seasons suffered injuries, so that Yao Ming in both offensive and defensive ends of the decline, he averaged 22 points at the offensive end, contributed 0.5 steals and 2 blocks per game on the defensive end, due to less than 70% of the number of appearances did not make it to the offensive efficiency list and defensive efficiency list.
The 2008-2009 season was a relatively healthy season for Yao Ming, he played 77 games, the team reduced his playing time in order to protect him, coupled with the continuous injury suspension in the first 3 seasons, Yao Ming's state has repeatedly declined, he averaged 19.7 points per game on the offensive end, contributed 0.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game on the defensive end, and the defensive efficiency was 101, ranking 13th in the league.
In the 2009-2010 season, Yao Ming was reimbursed for the season. In the 2010-2011 season, Yao Ming returned to play 5 games, due to a serious ankle injury, the 30-year-old had no choice but to announce his retirement, when he was in the year of playing, but he was injured and had to end his basketball career early, leaving many regrets.
It can be found that Yao Ming's defensive level, although not the top one in the league, is also very outstanding, the rookie season ranked 49th, the second season ranked 26th, the third season ranked 10th, even if he later suffered injuries, his defensive efficiency is still in the top 15 of the league, if he does not have so many injuries, he is very promising to become a super center with good offensive and defensive skills.
Yao Ming's movement speed after gaining weight is indeed relatively slow, and he will be targeted by some centers with shooting ability, but as long as he stands under the basket, few defenders dare to break through, and few centers want to confront him in the low position, his single defense ability is very good, the ability to assist in defense is poor, and the overall level of defense is still quite outstanding.