Though Yao Ming had spoken often of the pregame ritual he enjoyed throughout his career, rarely had it meant more to him or stirred his emotions more.
While Tim Duncan hugged the ball and Shane Battier sprinted to the corner of the court, Yao looked up to the rafters. He looked at the retired numbers of Clyde Drexler (No. 22), Moses Malone (24), Calvin Murphy (23), Hakeem Olajuwon (34) and Rudy Tomjanovich (45) and sought inspiration from those that had come before him.
At halftime on Friday, his No. 11 was hanging next to the numbers of the other greats in Rockets history and the 'CD' of Carroll Dawson, the general manager that brought him to Houston.