Otis... the elevator. By sun dazed from Flickr
“I salute the big man, I’ll miss him, but the Rockets are very selective in their retired jerseys, Yao should not be hung up in the rafters, but I want them to honor him somehow.”
Via “Should Yao’s Jersey Hang in the Rafters?†The Dream Shake
So, as you may or may not know, I have huge Basketball Jones on Yao Ming. He lifted Rockets fans from the malaise of what BD34 calls The Nightmare, which was the trade of Hakeem to Toronto. Yao also lifted us from the Terror, Stevie Franchise. I know Yao left a lot on the table due to injuries, but he was the most identifiable and best Rockets player for the past decade. And was a positive presence for the team and community to boot! He absolutely deserves to have his #11 hang from the Toyota Center.
The real furor should be why Otis Thorpe doesn’t have his #33 retired. Ok, maybe not, but he’s better than you think. His merits deserve at least 15 seconds of consideration before you give a “no†answer. Ready? Set. Go!
O.T. played 6+ seasons with the Rockets after coming over from Sacramento in a trade for Rodney McCray in 1988. He was the perfect nitty gritty, burly PF compliment to Hakeem’s Dream Shakin’ ways. Otis unwaveringly put up 10 rebounds and 16 points during his time in Houston and never shot less than 54% from the field. Blessed with gargantuan hands, Thorpe also routinely led the league in dunks until Shaq came along in the 1992-93 season. Thorpe made a single All-Star appearance in 1992, helped Houston to the 1994 title, graced us with one of the more endearing bromantical moments for the NBA as he high-fived and hugged Hakeem in title ecstasy, and like the gift that keeps on giving, he was the bait used to secure Clyde Drexler from Portland.
And time!
Still say no? Fair enough. How about spending another 15 seconds marveling at Otis’s Connie Hawkins-esque grace? I think we all can say yes to that.
