"The question, repeated dozens of times through the day, will no doubt be posed to Jeff Van Gundy as long as he can answer. 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. "Idon'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."

He then added a thought he would repeat often.

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

With Yao's decision to retire rather than attempt another comeback from another injury, discussions about his career always will include thoughts of what could have been. Yao, 30, played in eight of his nine seasons since he was the first pick of the 2002 draft, including the five games he played this past season.

Yao averaged 19 points in his career, improving his scoring average in each of his first five seasons to top out at 25 points per game. His prime, as with his career overall, did not last long. But at his best, a strong case could be made he had become the game's best center.

Measures of greatness

"I don't think people remember how dominant he was," former Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "He was a great offensive player and a very effective defensive player. You couldn't guard him one-on-one. Shaq (O'Neal) was like that. Yao was like that. They were just too good. You had to send help against them. And if you fouled Yao, he was an 89 percent free-throw shooter.

"He became a very effective defensive player. He knew how to use his size to get in position that guys had a hard time finishing at the rim."

Yao's career scoring average would not seem to qualify as Hall of Fame numbers, but his style was not to chase numbers.

"It's not in his heart to average 30," said Chuck Hayes, who was Yao's teammate for six seasons, longer than any NBA player. "He's an unselfish player. He demands a double-team and then moves the ball. But he was tough to guard. He was super tough. His footwork in the post, with his size, was unbelievable.""