Few bonds between a player and a coach are as special as the one between Jeff Van Gundy and Yao Ming.

Despite only being together for four seasons with the Houston Rockets, the two developed an interesting relationship between a highly-touted Chinese prospect and a hands-on coach constantly instilling defense to his players.

Van Gundy, now a color commentator for ESPN, never wastes an opportunity to speak highly of Yao's character and skill.

Between his many anecdotes, he shared one before the 7-foot-6 center's Hall of Fame induction on Friday.

“Yao was deaf in one ear, and to this day, I still do not know which one,” he told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. “He would always make me switch sides, ask me to talk into the opposite ear. Of course, when I told him to get into a lower stance in the pick-and-roll defensive coverage, he became deaf in both ears.”

Yao gave a shoutout to his former coach during his Hall of Fame speech, crediting him with turning the Rockets into a “tough defensive team, like he always does.”

The two had 328-183 (.555) win-loss record in their four years together, but never made it past the first round of the playoffs.

Nevertheless, their bond is not only an endearing one, but one that shows that the love for the sport transcends all language barriers and disabilities, as minor as they may be.