5 alternative NBA timelines for Yao Ming

4. What if he’d been drafted by the Golden State Warriors?

Part of the deal for Yao to enter the 2002 NBA Draft was to be assured that the Rockets were going to pick him at No. 1. His group of advisors, Team Yao, wanted him to play for a proud franchise with a great track record with centers. It’s hard to top Houston in that regard.

One of the two other teams besides Houston picking in the top three of the 2002 NBA Draft was the Golden State Warriors. Golden State drafted Duke Blue Devils junior swingman Mike Dunleavy, Jr. at No. 3. Could Yao have thrived play in the Bay Area?

At the time, there may not have been a worse run organization in the Western Conference than Golden State. After the Run TMC years under head coach Don Nelson, Golden State struggled to make the Western Conference Playoffs. Warriors fans continued to show their support of their team, but this was a doormat of a basketball franchise in the 2000s.

Yao’s bust potential in Oakland is too high to not consider. However, he would have been a crowd favorite in the Bay Area. He’d be closer to his native Shanghai playing on the West Coast. Marketing opportunities for Yao on both sides of the Pacific Ocean would have been tremendous.

Golden State might have been a better place to amplify Yao’s international popularity than in Gulf Coast Texas, but playing for the Warriors in his 20s might have cost him a shot at Springfield enshrinement. Yao was good enough to make horrid Golden State a playoff-caliber team, but nothing more. In that era of Warriors basketball, that would have meant the world to Bay Area hoop heads.

Next: 3. What if he didn't play in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games?