National Basketball Association

Yao's injury may hasten Houston's downfall

Published Jun. 30, 2009 4:04 a.m. ET

foxsports

A few years back I made a prediction that I'm sorry to say has apparently come to pass. On this site, I reported that a friend of mine, who happened to be both a hooper and a distinguished orthopedic surgeon, diagnosed Yao as suffering from a condition known as gigantism.

Because of the "overgrowth" of his bones and the subsequent insufficiency of an adequate blood supply, Yao was therefore extremely vulnerable to various fractures. Indeed, his career has been devastated by exactly these infirmities.