Jeff Van Gundy was the second of Yao Ming’s three NBA coaches, and for all 
he has or will accomplish, Van Gundy will be asked about the unique, iconic center he coached for four seasons with the Rockets.

Van Gundy had his 
answer, for a question not yet asked, ready.

“No. 1 to me, he’s a Hall of Famer,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t care if you put him in as player, as a contributor or put him in with his own heading. This guy definitely gets in for the greatness as a player when healthy or what he did as ambassador.”

“People forget,” Van Gundy said, “just how good he was.”

To Van Gundy, the best example of Yao’s excellence was his play against Orlando center Dwight Howard. O’Neal was in decline, with Miami and Phoenix forced to give O’Neal double-team help against Yao. Howard had begun to dominate.

But Yao flourished in one of the few matchups in which he did not go against double-teams, averaging 23.6 points, on 56.1 percent shooting, and 10.4 rebounds in nine games against Howard. Howard averaged 12.2 points, on 45.1 percent shooting, and 9.8 rebounds in those games. The Rockets went 7-2 when Yao went against Howard.

“Dwight Howard is clearly the best center in basketball today,” Van Gundy said. “Yao Ming, when healthy, absolutely dominated Dwight Howard. This guy’s skill and will at that size, people forget just how great he was. When he was healthy, he was a dominant player.”