When Yao first came into the league, there was a ton of hype around him... ' 7'6" Giant from the East, Ready to take on Shaq' and other types of slogans and the coming of age of b-ball in Asia, etc.
Then, he even did one-on-ones with former great (if not greatest), Hakeem Olajuwon, to modify his game to that of the league.
In the end, however, he resembled Hakeem's former injury prone Rocket's sidekick, 7'4" Ralph Sampson, than the 2nd coming of Wilt a/o Hakeem from Asia. Sampson was the much vaunted Virginia superstar of the early 80s, who was suppose to anchor & dominate the post game for the Rockets, picking up where Moses had left of. Now, like Ralph in '89, his career is about over for good.
The question is ... is his legacy that of a Sampson? Or will he be remembered for more?