Yao Ming

Lore & Background

Born in Shanghai, Yao began playing for the Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the CBA, winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He reached the NBA playoffs four times, and in 2009, helped the Rockets win their first playoff series since 1997. After missing several games due to a series of foot and ankle injuries in his last six seasons, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball in 2011.

Among Rockets franchise leaders, Yao ranks second in total blocks, sixth in total rebounds, and ranked sixth in total points at the time of his retirement. Yao is one of China's best-known athletes internationally, with sponsorships with several major companies. His rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, and he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled Yao: A Life in Two Worlds.

Known in China as the 'Yao Ming Phenomenon' and in the United States as the 'Ming Dynasty', Yao's success in the NBA, and his popularity among fans, made him a symbol of a new China that was both more modern and more confident. Yao is also an entrepreneur and owner of Yao Family Wines in Napa Valley, California. In April 2016, Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson, becoming the first Chinese national to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In February 2017, Yao was unanimously elected as chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. Yao had a storied career as a member of the Chinese national team. With the national team, Yao won the FIBA Asia Cup in 2001, 2003, and 2005, winning MVP of the tournament in 2001 and 2003. He also made the All-Tournament Team at the FIBA World Cup in 2002. Yao announced his international retirement after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Reader's Guide

Yao Ming was born on September 12, 1980, in Shanghai, China. He is the only child of 6 ft Yao Zhiyuan and 6 ft Fang Fengdi, both former professional basketball players. At birth, Yao weighed 11 lb. When Yao was nine years old, he began playing basketball and attended a junior sports school.

The following year, Yao measured 5 ft and was examined by sports doctors, who predicted he would grow to 7 ft. Yao first tried out for the Shanghai Sharks' junior team when he was 13, and practiced ten hours a day for his acceptance. After playing with the junior team for four years, Yao joined the Sharks' senior team, where he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season. His next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career.

The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao's third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets. When Wang Zhizhi left the Bayi Rockets to become the first NBA player from China the following year, the Sharks finally won their first CBA championship. During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field, and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.

Yao was pressured to enter the NBA draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks. Li also influenced Yao to sign a contract for Evergreen Sports Inc. to serve as his agent. The agreement entitled Evergreen to 33% of Yao's earnings, but the contract was later determined to be invalid. In 2002, the Chinese government released new regulations that would require him and other Chinese players to turn over half of any NBA earnings to the government and China's national basketball association.

When Yao decided to enter the 2002 NBA draft, a group of advisers was formed that came to be known as 'Team Yao'. The team consisted of Yao's negotiator, Erik Zhang; his NBA agent, Bill Duffy; his Chinese agent, Lu Hao; University of Chicago economics professor John Huizinga; and the vice president for marketing at BDA Sports Management, Bill Sanders. Yao was widely predicted to be picked number one overall. The CBA stipulated that Yao would have to return to play for the national team, and said they would not let him go to the United States unless the Houston Rockets would take him first overall.

Did You Know?

• Yao Ming was the first international player ever selected first overall in the NBA draft without having played U.S. college basketball.
• Yao Ming's rookie season was the subject of a documentary film titled The Year of the Yao.