What a coincidence! Deron posted a photo of meeting Yao Ming at the airport; during his playing days, he eliminated the Rockets two years in a row.

On September 23rd Beijing time, former NBA star Deron Williams posted on social media a photo featuring himself and Yao Ming. Deron wrote: "Bumped into Yao Ming at the airport today." The two are seen smiling happily. Deron, aged 41, is 1.90 meters tall, and Yao, aged 45, measures 2.26 meters.

The career head-to-head record between Deron and Yao is as follows: they faced each other 9 times in the regular season, with Yao winning 4 and losing 5; in the playoffs, they met 7 times, with Yao winning 3 and losing 4.

Deron's Jazz were considered the nemesis of the Rockets back then. In the 2006-07 playoff first round, the two teams battled through 7 games, with the Jazz ultimately defeating the Rockets 4-3. In that series, Yao averaged 25.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, while Deron averaged 16.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 8.4 assists. In the 2007-08 playoff first round, the Jazz and Rockets met again, with the Jazz winning 4-2. Yao missed the series due to injury, while Deron contributed 20.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game.

Recently, Deron also shared a photo of himself and Jazz teammate Carlos Boozer being inducted into the Hall of Fame together; both were honored as members of the Dream Team of 2008. Of the 12 players on that team, 11 attended the ceremony, with only Kobe missing due to his tragic passing in a helicopter accident, which was deeply mourned.

For Rockets fans, the Jazz teams led by Deron and Boozer remain an everlasting source of pain. Seeing Deron and Yao together now inevitably brings back memories of the battles between the Rockets and Jazz in those years.