Garnett entered the NBA Draft in 1995 and was selected by the Timberwolves with the fifth overall pick in the first round. Yao Ming competed in the NBA Draft in 2002 and was selected by the Rockets with the first pick in the first round. The 2002-2003 season was Yao Ming's rookie season, and Garnett had already entered the eighth season of his NBA career, and had been selected for the Best Team and defensive team several times, as well as the All-Star Team, and when rookie Yao Ming met Garnett, he was naturally blown up.
On February 21, 2002, Yao Ming followed the Rockets to Minnesota to challenge the Timberwolves, and Yao Ming played Garnett for the first time. Yao Ming started for 35 minutes, shot 4 of 9, 4 of 4 from the free throws, got 12 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, although he got two double-doubles and contributed 3 blocks, but the shooting percentage was only 44.4%, which was a failure for a center, and he also had 6 turnovers, and the overall performance was not good.
Garnett started 42 minutes, shot 10-of-20, 7-of-7 from the free throw line, cut 27 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block, shot 50% from the field, and made only one turnover, he led the Timberwolves to a 98-86 victory over the Rockets with a brilliant performance to successfully defend the home.
In the first meeting, Garnett scored more than twice as many points as Yao Ming, shot higher than Yao Ming, assisted more than Yao Ming, rebounded one less than Yao Ming, blocked 2 fewer than Yao Ming, but made 5 fewer turnovers than Yao Ming, and the overall performance was much better than Yao Ming.
At that time, the Timberwolves used Rasu Nestrovic to align with Yao Ming, but grabbing rebounds could not grab Yao Ming at all, he only grabbed 2 rebounds in the 26 minutes of playing time, and he could not prevent Yao Ming on the defensive end, but Garnett has been helping his teammates with excellent sense of defense, and he quickly pulled the ball out, resulting in 6 mistakes for Yao Ming.
As a rookie, it is normal to be blown up by a star, not to mention that Yao Ming did not have any american basketball background before, he had previously ruled the CBA, but after entering the NBA, he also needed to adapt to the rhythm and intensity of the game, he did not meet Garnett, a player with high arm span, long and fast, and played extremely unsuitable when facing Garnett, resulting in his low scoring efficiency and many mistakes.
In the years that followed, Yao Ming grew up every year, quickly growing into a center averaging 20+10 per game, becoming one of the best interior lines in the league, and when he faced Garnett again, could he regain face? Compare the hand-to-hand data and you'll have the answer.
Yao Ming and Garnett have played each other 18 times, all in the regular season, and both have led their respective teams to a record of 9 wins and 9 losses, which is even in terms of record, who is better in terms of personal performance?
Garnett averaged 39.1 minutes per game, averaging 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.8 blocks, 1.9 turnovers, 48.4 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from three-point range, and 77.2 percent from the free throw line.
Yao Ming averaged 34.7 minutes per game, averaging 18.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.3 steals, 1.3 blocks, 2.6 turnovers, shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 0 percent from three-point range, and 81.8 percent from free throws.
Comparing the data, it can be found that Garnett is better than Yao Ming at both ends of the attack and defense, averaging points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game is higher than Yao Ming, and the mistakes are less than Yao Ming, the most amazing thing is that he can average 4.9 assists as an interior line, and the ability to respond is too good.
In fact, Yao Ming played not badly, he faced Garnett, who had won the best defensive player, and he could average 18.7 points per game and shoot 50.4% from the field, which is already excellent. His first shooting percentage against Garnett was only 44.4%, and then 17 encounters increased the shooting percentage to 50.4%, indicating that he played a good performance against Garnett later, although the overall is still not as good as Garnett, but it is also remarkable.